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Local Woman Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud Scheme
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Sandra Nixon, a/k/a “Lisa Hart,” age 52, of Silver Spring, Maryland today to six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to defraud the United States. Judge Garbis also entered an order requiring Nixon to pay restitution of $750,000.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sandra Nixon was married to co-defendant Mark Nixon. Mark Nixon was a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, and worked at the U.S. Army Research Laboratories (ARL) in Hampton, Virginia, and Aberdeen, Maryland. From 2008 to December 2010, Nixon was the director of the Vehicle Technology Directorate with ARL at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Nixons also had a financial interest and management role in the operation of Motile Robotics, Inc. (MRI), located in Joppa, Maryland; Atlantic Capital Enterprises (ACE); and Arrow Technical Incorporated (ATI).
The scheme began in 2007, when the Nixons reached an agreement with longtime friend Kenneth Dawson to create and operate MRI. Dawson had full-time employment with two different defense contractors that required him to report to work at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where he lived. In 2007, Dawson used his personal credit cards to pay for startup costs associated with MRI, and the Nixons reimbursed Dawson for these expenses.
The Nixons caused MRI to receive over $5 million in federal funds under two task orders awarded to MRI by the U.S. Army Research Laboratories. The Nixons personally received over $400,000 as a result of the task orders awarded to MRI.
The conspiracy involved the submission of false invoices to the government, including a bill for more than $35,000 in false labor charges by a relative of Sandra Nixon, who was characterized as an aerospace engineer. In reality, the relative was a retired school employee.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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