Admits Purchasing Tires and Gas with Government Fleet Charge Card; Agrees to Pay $35,000 Restitution
DALLAS - Dwight Horton, 51, a former Mission Support Specialist (MSS) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Dallas, appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to a felony Information charging one count of theft of government property, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Horton, a resident of Grand Prairie, Texas, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the plea agreement filed in the case, Horton agrees to pay $35,000 restitution to HSI. He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for Nov. 16, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.
“There’s no doubt that the vast majority of federal government employees are good stewards of the taxpayers’ money," said Charles Anderson, special agent in charge, ICE, Office of Professional Responsibility in San Antonio. “This internal investigation and resulting guilty plea, however, show there will be consequences to those very few who cheat the system by unlawfully lining their own pockets."
According to documents filed in the case, the investigation began in September 2014 when ICE, Office of Professional Responsibility in Houston received a referral from HSI Dallas indicating that MSS Horton had used a government fleet charge card to purchase automotive supplies without authorization for personal gain.
The investigation revealed that on several occasions, Horton used his government fleet charge card to purchase a set of four tires from at least two tire stores in Dallas, and on each of those occasions, he took the tires with him rather than having them installed on a vehicle. The HSI Dallas facility does not have a maintenance area/shop for mechanics to install tires on fleet vehicles.
The investigation further revealed that Horton used his government fleet charge card to purchase window tint. He also used it to purchase gas at a Tom Thumb in Grand Prairie for his personally-owned vehicles.
Horton resigned his position at HSI Dallas on Oct. 14, 2014.
The case was investigated by agents with ICE, Office of Professional Responsibility in Houston. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wiley is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
