⏱ 3 min read
Donald Smith, 75, a Pittsburgh defense contractor, is staring down serious prison time after a federal jury found him guilty of fleecing the U.S. military. Smith bilked the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) out of over a million bucks, delivering either shoddy goods or nothing at all, then tried to cover it up by skipping out on his taxes. The scheme ran from 2019 to 2023 and came crashing down after a five-day trial.
Prosecutors laid out a clear case: eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of failing to file corporate tax returns. Smith’s company pocketed payments from the DLA for supplies that never made it to the troops or were junk when they did. He then allegedly didn’t report a single penny of that $1 million-plus haul to the IRS.
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years – that’s 160 years total. Add in potential fines reaching twice the amount he stole, and Smith is facing a grim future. The tax evasion charges each come with up to a year in jail and more fines. Sentencing is pending, leaving his fate in the hands of the judge.
The bust was a coordinated takedown led by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Guappone and Barbara K. Doolittle secured the conviction.
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📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: financial crimes
- Location: US
- Source: U.S. Department of Justice
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