FORMER CIA OFFICIAL SENTENCED ON CHARGES OF THEFT
OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal judge in Alexandria, Va. today sentenced a former official of the Central Intelligence Agency on charges of theft of government property. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Michelle Washington-Lowery, 45, of Woodbridge, Va., to two years’ supervised probation and ordered Washington-Lowery to pay $12,552.22 in restitution.

Washington-Lowery was chief logistics officer of a component of the CIA until her resignation in November 2001. She pleaded guilty on June 19, 2002, to a one-count criminal information charging theft of more than $10,000 in government money.

According to the information and the statement of facts filed with it, from January 1997 through January 2000, Washington-Lowery used her government-issued procurement card, known as an “Imprest card,” to make personal purchases for which the government was directly billed. The charges, which included automobile insurance and repairs, totaled $10,552.22.

Washington-Lowery falsely indicated on official forms that these purchases were made for official government purposes.

In addition, in September 1996, Washington-Lowery submitted a voucher for a cash advance of $2,000, claiming it was for official government purposes, when it was in fact for personal use.

The case was prosecuted by trial attorney Noah Bookbinder of the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, and the investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the CIA.

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