San Diego

$2.4 Million in Gas Thefts by Government Workers Reported Since 2010

Federal workers, including two from the San Diego area, have illegally purchased more than $2.4 million worth of gasoline since 2010 by using taxpayer-funded government gas cards for their personal vehicles, according to federal investigators.

A review of federal audits by NBC 7 Investigates found about 260 cases of gas theft by government workers nationwide in the past five years. Taxpayers are forced to foot the bill when government employees fill up for their own personal use.

The U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees a federal government fleet of 150,000 automobiles, has distributed 590,385 gasoline purchase cards to federal employees. Investigators with the GSA track purchases through a database that alerts them to suspicious gas purchases made on the same day.

In the San Diego area, two members of the military were caught and prosecuted for stealing more than $5,000 between them. A lance corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton faced a special court martial in July 2013 for making $2,201 worth of purchases in unleaded plus and super unleaded gasoline. Investigators say the individual purchased gas fraudulently at gas stations in West Virginia and Newport News, Virginia.

In another case, a Navy engineer technician from El Centro was convicted in federal court with a misdemeanor count for stealing government funds. He was sentenced to paying $3,169 in restitution and 6-months probation in 2012.

Bob Erickson, acting inspector general of the GSA, is tasked with overseeing the $514 million federal gas program.

"I think it's opportunistic. It's human greed," Erickson said of the thefts. "There is a variety of motives. Sometimes it's a well put together scheme to defraud the U.S. Sometimes it's just someone who decides they're not getting paid enough and wants to get a bonus using the government credit card."

GSA investigators have prosecuted more than 260 gas theft cases since 2010, recovering $2.4 million nationwide.

"When we catch them red-handed, it's 'I knew this was coming. I've been waiting for this day,'" said Special Agent Eric Radwick. "Most of them, they know what they're doing is wrong."

The FLEET cards require workers to enter the odometer from their government cars and their government tag numbers to prevent theft.

But cases reviewed by NBC 7 Investigates show workers can and do falsify the information.

Radwick says his team goes undercover and reviews a federal database looking for similar gas purchases on the same day to catch the crooks.

"It is a crime. You're stealing from the federal government. The government is paying for the fuel and they're not getting it, so you're stealing the fuel from the federal government."

Contact Us