A North Carolina woman has been sentenced to prison for stealing nearly $115,000 in government funds, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Elton Malone of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations, Special Investigations Branch.
Jihan S. Cover, 34, of Arden, N.C., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger in the Western District of North Carolina to six months in prison for stealing $114,494 in government funds.
In addition to her prison term, Cover was ordered to forfeit $114,494, pay $114,494 in restitution to HHS and serve three years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement, following her prison term.
Cover pleaded guilty to one count of theft on August 22, 2011.
According to court documents, Cover worked as a purchasing agent with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), a subdivision of HHS, from approximately 2006 through December 2011. Cover’s sole job function involved procuring authorized items and services for NIH/NCI using assigned government credit cards.
Cover used and caused to be used NIH/NCI credit cards assigned to her to complete over 250 unauthorized personal transactions totaling approximately $114,494. During this period of time, Cover used and caused to be used her NIH/NCI purchase cards to make over 170 personal purchases totaling approximately $16,000 from Amazon.com for items that included toys, exercise equipment, books, clothes and other personal items.
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Bryan Roach, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, North Carolina 2017 · North Carolina
- Tony McElveen, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, North Carolina 2023 · North Carolina
- Four Charlotte Men, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, North Carolina 2019 · North Carolina
- William Dalton Edwards, Cattle Theft, North Carolina 2023 · North Carolina
- Joel De La Torre, Making False Statements Concerning Highway Projects, Aggravated Identity Theft, North Carolina 2022 · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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