Kelli Durham, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Georgia 2012

WASHINGTON - In a shocking turn of events, Kelli Durham, a 33-year-old resident of Leesburg, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to a scheme to overcharge the Department of Defense (DOD) for transportation services rendered through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

According to court documents, Durham, a former employee of Company A, an Albany-based trucking company and freight transportation broker owned by Person A, admitted to participating in a scheme led by Person A to defraud the government by overbilling it for freight transportation services Company A falsely claimed to have provided to DLA at the Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, Georgia.

Durham admitted that, at Person A's direction, she took several steps intended to defraud the government and other trucking companies with which she brokered government freight, including altering shipping and equipment specifications stated on government bills of lading (GBL). Durham then used these falsified bills of lading to broker loads using shipping and equipment specifications inferior to those contracted for by DLA, while still billing DLA for the more expensive specifications it had requested.

This led to massive over-billing of the government and losses in excess of $7 million. Durham admitted that she received approximately $905,685 as a result of the fraud scheme.

At sentencing, Durham faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of not more than twice the pecuniary loss to the government. As part of her plea agreement with the United States, Durham has agreed to forfeit the $905,685 that she received as a result of the scheme, as well as to pay full restitution to the Department of Defense.

The scheme, which spanned from July 2008 to December 2012, resulted in Company A being paid $37,944,823.88 for transportation services, of which between $7 million and $20 million represents a loss to the government in the form of services it paid for but did not receive.

Kelli Durham, a resident of Leesburg, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to a scheme to overcharge the Department of Defense for transportation services rendered through the Defense Logistics Agency.

City and state: Leesburg, Georgia

Exact date: Not specified

Sentence or outcome: Facing up to 5 years in prison and a fine of not more than twice the pecuniary loss to the government

Dollar amounts: $905,685, $37,944,823.88

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/georgia-woman-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-commit-wire-fraud-related-transportation-scheme