An IT specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Lakewood office stole $1.1 million in taxpayer funds over 15 years by creating fake invoices and fraudulent PayPal accounts, according to court records.
James Montoya, 55, was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud in August 2024 after Department of the Interior officials found “numerous questionable transactions on Montoya’s government charge card,” the said in a statement this week.
Federal investigators found Montoya had set up three PayPal vendor accounts that he controlled – named Chiphead Solutions, Amazon Resale and Oracle Outlet – and charged transactions to those accounts on his government credit card, claiming them as information technology expenses, according to an indictment in the case.
He also submitted altered receipts, fake invoices and other documentation to the USGS and claimed the expenses were for IT items or services.
“In fact, the defendant did not provide any IT-related items or services to USGS and many of these purchases were for personal items including, but not limited to, vintage and collectible toys as well as car parts,” federal officials said in a news release.
Montoya embezzled the money between December 2008 and November 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison on Monday, court records show.
Montoya is also required to repay the $1.12 million he stole.
“Stealing from the federal government is stealing from hard-working American taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said in a statement. “Our office will vigorously prosecute these types of crimes on behalf of American taxpayers.”
