GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe for the Northern District of Florida
today announced the sentencing of Caron Griffis, 44, of Melrose, Florida, after she pleaded guilty
in U.S. District Court in Gainesville to a charge of theft of government money.
Griffis, who was employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a supply technician at
the Gainesville VA Medical Center, was responsible for purchasing supplies for the center from
outside vendors. Griffis’ responsibilities required that government purchase cards be issued in her
name. She was also responsible for completing internal purchase orders and reconciliation documents
for each transaction that would be charged to her VA purchase cards.
For over a year, Griffis utilized her VA-issued purchase cards to obtain unauthorized items from
retail stores, including Walmart and Office Depot, both in person and online. She also created
false reconciliation forms in the VA computer system in an attempt to justify the transactions and
avoid being caught.
In addition to receiving a sentence of one month in federal prison, five months home detention, and
two-half years supervised release, Griffis was ordered to pay restitution to the VA in the amount
of $26,456.11, to Office Depot in the amount of $6,260.47, and to Walmart in the amount of
$3,310.08.
Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the
Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG). David Spilker, Special Agent
in Charge with VA-OIG, said, "Griffis’ deceitful actions violated the public’s trust and stole from
VA’s limited resources, which are needed to care for our nation’s veterans. The Inspector General’s
Office is committed to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s procurement programs."
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that
serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access
public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern
District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
