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Ex-Congressional Aide Pleads Guilty to Fraud

January 25, 2008 7:40 PM

ABC News' Jason Ryan Reports:  A former office manager for three members of Congress pleaded guilty to a fraud charge Friday, for submitting nearly $200,000 in fraudulent expense vouchers and bilking taxpayers and funds from the House of Representatives.

As part of her job, Laura Flores, 47, submitted expenses and receipts for office supplies, periodical and magazine subscriptions, and access to computer databases.

Court records reviewed in the case note, "On April 22, 2005, defendant submitted a voucher seeking repayment of $17,395.00 for the purchase of access to the  Congressional Quarterly database... Defendant had never ordered the product from the vendor."

"To evidence the ostensible purchase, defendant obtained an invoice from Congressional Quarterly to make it appear as if she actually purchased the subscription."

Another example cited in court records includes more than $3,600 worth of toner cartridges for computer printers that never existed. The court documents do not specify which members of Congress employed Flores. 

Justice Department lawyers contacted Friday evening declined to comment, and calls to Flores' attorney have not been returned.

According to the statement of fact filed at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., Flores, "While acting as office manager, defendant applied the applicable House member's signature to the completed expense voucher. The signature would indicate that the voucher had been approved by the specific House member."

The documents say Flores was pulling the funds from the member's "Representational Allowances," funds alloted for members to rent office space in their district, pay for staff salaries. 

According to the court records, "once the allotment is depleted there are no additional funds for employee salaries or office expenses. Defendant would utilize her personal credit cards to purchase office supplies and order periodicals for the different House member offices. This would cause the U.S. House of Representatives to issue wire transfers of currency into Flores' personal bank account as reimbursement for the bogus claims," the documents noted.

Flores could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Her sentencing is set for May 2.

January 25, 2008 in Romney, Mitt | Permalink | User Comments (3)

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