FBI Fleet Chief Cops to Stealing $20,995 in Fraud Scheme

Timothy Carl Johnson, 52, of Fort Washington, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to theft of government property after orchestrating a five-year fraud scheme that bled $20,995 from federal coffers. As the former automotive fleet program coordinator at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Johnson exploited his authority over vehicle maintenance contracts to line his own pockets with cash kickbacks from crooked vendors.

Johnson admitted that from 2011 through January 2016, he conspired with local auto and towing service providers to submit inflated or completely fictitious invoices for work never performed. Using his government purchase card, he authorized payments for these phantom services—then collected cash proceeds from the vendors in exchange for the fraudulent billing. The scam spanned routine maintenance, towing, repairs, and detailing of FBI vehicles assigned to headquarters staff.

The betrayal of trust unfolded under the nose of one of the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agencies. Johnson’s role included soliciting bids, supervising service quality, and approving payments. Instead, he turned his position into a personal slush fund, authorizing payments to co-conspirators who delivered little or nothing in return—all while the FBI unknowingly footed the bill.

His guilty plea, entered on January 30, 2017, in Greenbelt, Maryland, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for June 6, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. As part of the agreement, Johnson is required to pay full restitution of at least $20,995—the exact amount the government lost to his fraud.

The investigation was spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Field Division. Special Agent in Charge Michael Tompkins of DOJ OIG and DEA’s Karl C. Colder led the probe, with critical support from the FBI itself, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, and Prince George’s County Police Department—agencies now tasked with policing their own ranks.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who announced the charges, commended investigators for exposing the corruption from within. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Eyler Kaplan is prosecuting the case, sending a clear message: even those sworn to uphold federal integrity won’t escape justice when they betray the badge.