James Montoya, a former federal employee from Lakewood, Colorado, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. He will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay restitution totaling $1,122,009.47.
Montoya worked at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an agency under the Department of the Interior (DOI). According to court documents, DOI identified suspicious activity during a routine review of government charge cards. Investigators discovered that Montoya had concealed improper purchases for years by submitting altered receipts and fictitious invoices claiming they were for IT-related goods or services. In reality, many purchases were personal items such as vintage toys and car parts.
The fraudulent conduct spanned approximately fifteen years, starting in December 2008 and continuing through November 2023. The total amount defrauded from the government was about $1.12 million.
“Stealing from the federal government is stealing from hard-working American taxpayers,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. “Our office will vigorously prosecute these types of crimes on behalf of American taxpayers.”
“Our investigative staff used data analytics and ingenuity to identify this longstanding, ongoing scheme, which defrauded American taxpayers out of over $1 million over many years,” said U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Katherine Balestra. “The judgment in this case is a strong deterrent for others looking to perpetuate this type of scheme.”
United States District Judge Philip A. Brimmer presided over the sentencing hearing.
The investigation was led by the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sonia Dave.
