SAN FRANCISCO – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced today that Samuel Oravec, a maintenance worker supervisor at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, pled guilty to Theft of Government Funds.
Mr. Oravec, 57, of Suisan, California, was charged by an Information on December 19, 2005 with one count of Theft of Government Funds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. Under the plea agreement, Mr. Oravec pled guilty to the sole misdemeanor count charged in the Information.
In pleading guilty, Mr. Oravec admitted to authorizing unearned overtime payments for an employee he supervised. According to court documents, from on or about October 20, 2002 through on or about March 8, 2003, he authorized unearned overtime payments for a specific employee which that employee never earned. The employee then provided a kick-back to Mr. Oravec of approximately 50% of the overtime he received after taxes. The total amount of overtime payments which he wrongly approved was $823.08.
The sentencing of Mr. Oravec is scheduled for April 21, 2006 before United States Magistrate-Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of Theft of Government Funds, 18 U.S.C. § 641, a Class A Misdemeanor is one year in prison and a fine of $100,000, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Tina Hua is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Ana Guerra. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Department of the Interior, Office of the Inspector General.
