Bureau of Prisons employees cleared of wrongdoing in the same case
TUCSON, Ariz. – LawFuel – Legal Newswire Service – Tristin Napoleon Watson, 24, of Maricopa, Ariz., was sentenced here yesterday to six months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson. Watson pleaded guilty on May 22, 2008, to making false statements to a federal agency in regards to purchases made with a government procurement card belonging to the Bureau of Prisons.
The case against Watson began as an internal investigation of two Bureau of Prisons employees involving the compromise of a government procurement card. A procurement card allows the authorized user to make purchases on behalf of his agency and functions in a similar fashion to a credit card. In November 2006, a procurement card assigned to an employee at the Tucson Federal Correctional Institution was fraudulently used to purchase eight professional football tickets and a parking pass, for a total of $2,678.95 in unauthorized purchases.
The investigation linked these purchases to Watson, who made several false statements regarding the purchases when questioned by federal authorities. Watson, who is not a federal employee and who had no authorization to use the procurement card, was ultimately found to be responsible for the purchases. Both Bureau of Prisons employees were cleared of any wrongdoing.
The investigation leading to the conviction was conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. The prosecution was handled by Angela Woolridge, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-07-1748-TUC-CKJ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2008-196(Watson)
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Sandy Raynor
Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Arizona
Office 602.514.7625
Cell 602.525.2681
Fax 602.514.7676
sandra.raynor@usdoj.gov
