Air Force Vet Eddie Ray Johnson Sentenced for $1.1M Credit Card Fraud

Greenbelt, Maryland – In a stunning turn of events, former Air Force employee Eddie Ray Johnson, Jr., 60, from Brandywine, Maryland, was sentenced to federal prison today for swindling more than $1.1 million in government funds.

U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm handed down the sentence, which includes 16 months behind bars and a further three years of supervised release, with the first year of that period served under house arrest. Johnson was also ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, pay a $15,000 fine, surrender $4,000 in seized proceeds, and make restitution totaling $1,157,540.69.

Johnson’s deceitful scheme involved using his government-issued travel credit card to secure over $1.1 million in cash advances, of which at least $774,000 was funneled into his personal accounts. He admitted to spending the money on personal expenses such as a baby grand piano and family vacations.

According to the plea agreement, Johnson worked for the Air Force from 2003 until February 2018, serving most recently as a travel coordinator in the Office of Legislative Liaison. His role included overseeing congressional travel and approving accounting packages for trips. It was during his tenure that he devised the fraudulent scheme.

The investigation into Johnson’s activities led to a search warrant at his residence on November 6, 2019. Authorities recovered approximately $15,174 in cash, with at least $4,000 identified as proceeds from the fraud.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) for their dedication in investigating and bringing Johnson to justice.