Donald Smith, Wire and Tax Fraud, Pennsylvania 2024

Pittsburgh Defense Contractor Convicted of Wire and Tax Fraud

In a shocking turn of events, a federal jury in Pittsburgh has found 75-year-old Donald Smith, a defense contractor, guilty of 13 counts of violating federal fraud and tax laws. United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the verdict today.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before reaching a guilty verdict against Smith. He was tried before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. The evidence presented during the five-day trial showed that Smith engaged in a scheme to defraud the Defense Logistics Agency, which provides material to all branches of the United States military.

The scheme caused the United States to make payments of over $1,000,000 on products that were not what Smith and those with whom he worked promised to provide. Furthermore, Smith failed to file corporate tax returns reporting any of the $1,000,000+ in payments his company received during the tax years of 2019 through 2023.

Smith faces a maximum total sentence of 20 years of imprisonment for each count of wire fraud, as well as a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary loss from the offense. For the tax counts, Smith faces a maximum total sentence of 1 year of imprisonment, a fine of no more than $100,000, or both.

The federal Sentencing Guidelines will dictate the actual sentence imposed, taking into account the seriousness of the offenses and Smith’s prior criminal history, if any.

The investigation that led to Smith’s prosecution was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant United States Attorneys William Guappone and Barbara K. Doolittle prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The court will schedule sentencing by further order.

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