Uplifting story
Judge Roy Bean
Marine in Brig for Spending Spree; Govt. Roots Out Abuse
By Geraldine Sealey
Aug. 14 - A Marine Corps lance corporal is in the military brig for
illegally using a Pentagon credit card to buy herself a car, motorcycle,
furniture and a breast-lift, according to the Marine Forces Reserve.
Sherry K. Pierre pleaded guilty and was convicted on June 17 of making
$129,709.11 worth of illegal purchases on her government-issued charge card
between May 2000 and June 2001 while assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve
headquarters in New Orleans.
As punishment for her spending bender, Pierre was demoted from staff
sergeant to lance corporal, fined $30,000, and sent to a Miramar, Calif.,
military brig on a 14-month sentence, said command spokesman Al Foucha. Her
case is on appeal, and could end in Pierre being completely bounced from the
military.
The cosmetically enhanced Marine's spree is just the latest - and perhaps
most egregious - example of the type of abuse officials want to prevent in
the federal "purchase card" program, which is intended to reduce waste.
Pierre's conviction was first reported in Defense Week on Monday and
confirmed by ABCNEWS.com.
Pentagon officials say financial abuses can happen anywhere, in the
government or private sector, and that auditing techniques developed since
Pierre's infractions will help prevent future misuse of the
government-issued charge cards.
"Human greed is an amazing motivator for many people," said Cheryl Irwin, a
Pentagon spokeswoman. "Precautions we have in place will help us eliminate
those kinds of frauds that people will perpetrate."
For her part, Pierre regrets her actions, is doing her time and taking
classes, says her defense counsel, Capt. Angela Wissman.
"She is very sorry, and that's one of the reasons she pleaded guilty,"
Wissman said. "She's taking courses in the brig in order to improve and is
working hard to get back into the community."
Pierre's improper purchases included a car, motorcycle, breast-lift surgery,
furniture and other household goods and a down payment on another vehicle.
Many of the items were recovered by military criminal investigators in
Pierre's Florida home, according to the Marine Forces Reserve.
An Intention to Streamline
Purchase cards are used by all federal agencies to buy goods and services
for official government use. The idea behind the program, started in 1989,
was to streamline government purchases by allowing agencies to deal directly
with vendors, reducing administrative costs and cutting bureaucratic red
tape.
While the cards are used mainly for "micropurchases," or transactions worth
less than $2,500, some government employees are authorized to buy above that
limit. Pierre was among those with greater authorization.
In fiscal year 2001, federal card holders made 24 million purchases valued
at $13.7 billion, according to the General Services Administration, which
also estimated that the program would save approximately $1.3 billion a
year.
But the purchase card program has fallen vulnerable to abuse, and not just
at the Pentagon.
Last March, the General Accounting Office, which is investigating purchase
card programs at several agencies, reported that the Department of Housing
and Urban Development could not legitimize more than $1.3 million in
approved purchases, including more than $74,000 at computer and electronic
stores and $27,000 at department stores such as Macy's and Sears.
Last year, the GAO issued similar criticisms of the Army, Navy and Air Force
for alleged purchase card abuse. The White House Office of Management and
Budget also ordered agencies last year to investigate purchase card abuse.
The Pentagon, which accounted for 11 million purchases in fiscal year 2002
valued at $6.8 billion, has undertaken its own oversight program. On June
27, the Pentagon's inspector general said that out of 1,357 Pentagon
purchase card holders chosen for audit, 182 card holders potentially used
their cards inappropriately in about $5 million worth of transactions.
Weeding Out the Dishonorable Few
Card holders were chosen for review based on a technique known as data
mining, a tool defense officials say will enable officials to weed out abuse
in the future. The process involves sifting through large repositories of
data and looking for anomalies that may indicate misuse, flagging the
transaction, and allowing officials to investigate.
Transactions between, say, a medical facility and an upholsterer should be
looked at more closely than those made between a medical facility and a
pharmaceutical supplier, the inspector general said.
Data mining helped catch Pierre and other abusive card holders, and will
hopefully nab any others in the future, officials say.
"The bottom line is the criminals were caught, tried and convicted and
Marine Forces Reserve has thoroughly reviewed and implemented new, more
stringent system of checks and balances to prevent something like this from
happening in the future," said Capt Jeff Pool, Marine Forces Reserve
spokesman.
Wissman, Pierre's defense counsel, says the Pentagon's new auditing
techniques appear to be working, at least based on the increasing number of
cases involving purchase cards she has seen in military court. And Pierre's
case could be an example to other branches of the military to weed out any
would-be crooks their own ranks, she said.
"As one case happens in one service, the other services will start looking
at their [purchase card] program," she said.
MARINE CHARGED BREAST LIFT TO UNCLE SAM...
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Business/pentagonabuse030814.html
DAB
Judge Roy Bean <Jerse...@Langtry.com> typed:
> Dishonorable Conduct
> Marine in Brig for Spending Spree; Govt. Roots Out Abuse
>
> By Geraldine Sealey
>
> Aug. 14 - A Marine Corps lance corporal is in the military brig for
> illegally using a Pentagon credit card to buy herself a car,
> motorcycle, furniture and a breast-lift, according to the Marine
> Forces Reserve.
> Sherry K. Pierre pleaded guilty and was convicted on June 17 of making
> $129,709.11 worth of illegal purchases on her government-issued
> charge card between May 2000 and June 2001 while assigned to the
> Marine Forces Reserve headquarters in New Orleans.
> As punishment for her spending bender, Pierre was demoted from staff
> sergeant to lance corporal, fined $30,000, and sent to a Miramar,
> Calif., military brig on a 14-month sentence, said command spokesman
> Al Foucha. Her case is on appeal, and could end in Pierre being
> completely bounced from the military.
Yep heard about that and the stupid bitch should be given a dishonorable
discharge, all gov employees and Military must sign a statement that they
understand the card is for official use only........so IMO there are no
grounds for an appeal....she fucked up and got caught. I have refused a gov
cc as I don't want anything to do with it, when I go TDY I get a check to
cover my expenses......they don't like it but tough shit I don't go TDY.
Some users that abused the system said they got the card mixed up with their
Charge Cards.....excuse me!!!!!! The damn card has Government Credit Card
in bold letters on the front.
--
Remove Clothes to reply<G>
Judge Roy Bean
"DAB" <amo...@hushClothes.com> wrote in message
news:Wtu%a.3104$_P1....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
to put 'em on display at the NCO club?
Jezebel
DAB <amo...@hushClothes.com> took a deep breath, sighed and spoke thusly:
Yep, probably similar to the corporate card my husband has for when he goes on business
trips. However, that card stays at home and out of the wallet unless he's going on a
trip. And any charges that are incurred have to be paid within 60 days. It's not
revolving credit and you can't stretch the payments. Plus, he gets the bill, not the
company. He has to submit his travel expenses when he's gets back to the office from his
trip, then gets a reimbursement check.
--
Marilyn
-----------
"They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose"
replyfromyou@spam.email.com HollywoodŽBoy
: "DAB" <amo...@hushClothes.com> wrote in message
this is a way fine question that will be a moment in Jiffy history! I wanna
know too?
DAB
Hummm good question.......ok they should take em back.
DAB
Jezebel <inkstn...@yahoo.com> typed:
Well that is pretty much the same for us as well however not all that were
given cards are honest apparently.
Rick King
"DAB" <amo...@hushClothes.com> wrote in message news:Wtu%a.3104$_P1....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
DAB
In news:L5K%a.138567$Oz4.26776@rwcrnsc54,
Rick King <m...@trollin.com> typed: