Richard A. Lobur, Theft of Government Money, New York 2015

Akron Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing FEMA Grant Funding Intended For Education Expenses

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Richard A. Lobur, 55, of Akron, NY, pleaded before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to theft of government money. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Fabian, on January 12, 2015, Lobur deposited into his account at the Bank of Akron, $18,000 of grant funds intended to be used for educational expenses for his children. The funds were administered as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.

Between January 12 and June 9, 2015, Lobur provided $15,000 of the grant funds to his children, but also converted more than $1,000 of the remaining $3,000 to his personal use. The defendant knew that he was not entitled to convert the grant funds to his own personal use and he knew that the intended and lawful use of the funds was for educational expenses for his children.

As part of his plea agreement, Lobur will pay restitution totaling $39,182.92. The money was used for, among other things: payments on a Yard Card, Discover Card, and FIA Card, which were used to buy a truck, lawnmower and camper, and a payment to Akron Mobile Home Park.

'It's a sad day when a defendant chooses to line his own pockets with federal funding intended for the educational expenses of his own children,' stated U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy. 'The SAFER grant is designed to allow individuals to serve the public as firefighters and first responders without the added burden and stress of having to figure out how to pay for their children's education. Any misuse of such funding will not be tolerated and anyone who does attempt to abuse the program will be brought to justice.'

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John Tiano, Detroit Field Office, and the New York State Comptroller's Office, under the direction of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 30, 2019, before Judge Wolford.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/akron-man-pleads-guilty-stealing-fema-grant-funding-intended-education-expenses