Joseph W. Horner Jr., 73, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is headed to federal prison for 24 months after being caught in a black-market scheme to buy stolen military property from Fort Bragg. Horner, a civilian dealer in illicit gear, pleaded guilty on August 17, 2016, to receiving stolen government property between July 2011 and February 2013. He was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon his release.
The haul Horner bought was no small-time score — over $277,901 in military supplies, including bulk Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs), tactical knives, and military-issue sunglasses. The goods were stolen by Christopher A. Mann, a former Army sergeant assigned to the 98th Civil Affairs Battalion under U.S. Army Special Operations Command. As a supply specialist, Mann had authorized access to order and manage sensitive equipment, which he abused to funnel military property off-base and into Horner’s hands.
Mann used his rank and access to systematically strip the base of supplies, shipping stolen items to Horner who paid pennies on the dollar. The investigation revealed that the thefts spanned nearly two years, with Horner knowingly purchasing the looted materials as part of an ongoing underground trade. The Department of Defense, which lost over a quarter-million dollars in assets, will receive full restitution — a sum Horner paid in full at sentencing.
This isn’t Horner’s first brush with Fort Bragg theft. In 2006, he completed a pretrial diversion agreement for receiving stolen property originating from the same base, signaling a pattern of exploiting military vulnerabilities for personal profit. His return to the same criminal playbook ultimately landed him behind bars with a federal felony conviction.
Mann, the inside man, pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016, to theft of government property and aiding in the illegal sale of military gear. On October 26, 2016, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Investigators say the case exemplifies how trusted personnel with logistical access can become conduits for large-scale fraud and supply chain theft.
The probe was led by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig prosecuted the case for the government. Authorities warn that criminal networks targeting military bases remain under intense scrutiny, and repeat offenders like Horner will face full prosecution.
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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