NORFOLK, Va. - A Virginia Beach naval officer was sentenced today to over four years in prison for his role in a $2.7 million procurement fraud scheme, and for lying on his federal income tax return.
According to court documents, Randolph M. Prince, 45, was a Navy officer at a Naval Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit based in Virginia Beach in charge of procurement. From Spring 2014 until Fall 2015, Prince took advantage of his role within his command to steer government contracts to businesses of his choosing. These businesses were companies formed by Prince’s associates and purporting to be legitimate sub-vendors of military equipment, despite being vendors of nothing at all.
In order to steer said contracts, Prince and others rigged bids, substituted products on purchase orders, and used fraudulent invoices and delivery documents to make the purchases appear legitimate. In the end, Prince ensured his command spent upwards of $2.7 million dollars on purchase orders to the sham companies, knowing all along that the Navy would receive nothing in return. The items ostensibly purchased for Prince’s unit were “inert training aids" and are destroyed in routine training for Navy EOD units. Because Prince was responsible for the ordering of goods up-front, and confirming their delivery on the back-end, he was able to perpetrate the scheme for over 18 months without his command becoming aware. Prince and others pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the scheme, money that Prince failed to report as income on his 2014 tax return.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert Craig, Special Agent in Charge for Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Layne prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-116.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
