William Thompson, Obstruction of Justice, North Carolina 2024

Former Subcontractor Sentenced to Prison for Obstruction of Justice

A former subcontractor for the U.S. Marine Corps has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for destroying records in connection with a federal investigation of bribery and procurement fraud at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

William Thompson, 56, of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, previously pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice. Thompson owned and operated C&D Painting and Construction, a construction company with its principal place of business in Sneads Ferry.

The investigation, led by the FBI, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, NCIS, Naval Audit Service, and IRS-CI, found that Thompson deleted text messages from his phone that were relevant to the federal investigation into bribery and procurement fraud at MCBCL.

According to documents filed with the Court, the investigation was covert and not known to all subjects, including Public Official 1, a civilian employee of the U.S. Marine Corps who directed the procurement of information technology services and equipment to be used by the Marine Corps at MCBCL and elsewhere.

Thompson exchanged several text messages with Public Official 1 on the evening of the interview and the following morning, informing Public Official 1 that the FBI, NCIS, and IRS-CI were investigating Public Official 1’s involvement in contracting matters while Public Official 1 was employed by the Marine Corps.

Thompson deleted the relevant text messages from his phone, despite knowing that the messages constituted evidence related to the federal investigation into bribery and procurement fraud at MCBCL.

Thompson was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the obstruction of justice.

Case information: Defendant – William Thompson, Crime – Obstruction of Justice, City/State – Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, Date – (no specific date mentioned, however, the article refers to a 2018 interview), Sentence/Outcome – 18 months in prison.

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