WVDEP Employee Made Over $61,000 in Fraudulent Purchases with State Credit Card
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Fayette County woman was sentenced to over one year of federal incarceration for the felony offense of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Yvonne Dozier, 50, of Boomer, West Virginia, previously pled guilty to wire fraud on Nov. 18, 2019. She was sentenced to one year and one day of incarceration and was also ordered to pay restitution to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) in the amount of $61,731.72. Stuart praised the work of the United States Secret Service, the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, and the WVDEP.
“Dozier stole from the State of West Virginia for four years," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “She was a trusted employee in state government who violated that trust by stealing from taxpayers. Our goal in prosecuting cases like this is not only to hold the offender accountable, but to make victims whole again through restitution. In this case, Dozier will be repaying the WVDEP in full for her fraudulent purchases."
Dozier previously worked for the WVDEP as an accounting tech. She was assigned a West Virginia state purchasing card and was permitted to make authorized purchases on behalf of the WVDEP. These cards could not be used to make personal purchases. Dozier devised a scheme where she used the state purchasing card to make personal purchases and fraudulently wired credit card information. She then altered invoices and modified the state accounting software to adjust the purchases and make the fraudulent purchases appear as though they were legitimately made. From 2014 to 2018, Dozier made hundreds of unauthorized purchases, costing the state of West Virginia $61,753.72. Dozier gave a Mirandized statement to a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, in which she admitted to misusing the state purchasing card to make personal purchases, alter invoices, and ultimately pass those expenses onto the State of West Virginia. The fraudulent purchases moved money in interstate commerce both from the actual purchase with the credit card and the State of West Virginia paying her Visa card expenses. Dozier used her state purchasing card to pay for personal expenses such as electric, insurance, cable, and cell phone bills, and vacation rental homes. Dozier no longer works for the State of West Virginia.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
