Wife of Murrieta U.S. Marine Capt. expected to plead guilty to skimming charges
Janet Schmidt and her husband, Capt. Eric Schmidt, both 39, face one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false income tax return for allegedly siphoning away roughly $1.75 million.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A U.S. Marine captain’s wife from Murrieta, accused with her husband of skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from government contracts tied to troop supplies in Iraq, is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to federal charges, a prosecutor said.
Janet Schmidt and her husband, Capt. Eric Schmidt, both 39, face one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false income tax return for allegedly siphoning away roughly $1.75 million in funds intended to buy equipment for Marines deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Janet Schmidt made her initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Oswald Parada and is expected to return to federal court in Riverside on Thursday morning to plead guilty to one or both of the government’s charges, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kovats.
The federal prosecutor told City News Service the Schmidts have both entered into plea deals with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, though he would not disclose the nature of the agreements, which remain sealed.
The defendants, who reside in Murrieta, were arrested and charged earlier this month, following a months-long investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the IRS and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
They are both free on bond.
According to prosecutors, the alleged fraud occurred in 2008 while Eric Schmidt, who is attached to the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, was a Marine Corps contracting representative, working on the Iraqi First Program, which is designed to increase the participation of Iraqi companies in federal contracts for the benefit of the Middle Eastern country’s economy.
Schmidt is accused of using his position to steer business to the Al-Methwad Co., with whose executives he apparently had a relationship.
Janet Schmidt located vendors “to provide the goods purportedly to be furnished by Al-Methwad under the terms of the contract,” said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek.
He alleged that the woman, using funds provided by Al-Methwad, purchased “far fewer or inferior products than those required by the contract.”
A deficient shipment would then be sent to Iraq, where her husband signed off on it, certifying everything was in order and that Al-Methwad had met the terms of its Pentagon contract, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The company was then paid in full by the U.S. government, prosecutors said.
Meantime, Marines were shortchanged on supplies. According to the criminal complaint, one contract called for a number of exercise machines and dumbbell sets to be delivered to an outfit, but the Schmidts allegedly purchased an insufficient quantity and pocketed $93,000 that should have been spent on the exercise gear.
Federal agents seized the Schmidts’ two homes, including one in Big Bear, and two vehicles were also impounded by the government pending the outcome of the defendants’ case.
Eric Schmidt is slated to be arraigned April 2, when he is also expected to plead guilty, according to Kovats, who said the maximum sentence each defendant faces is 23 years in federal prison.
Tags: Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kovats, Capt. Eric Schmidt, iraq, Janet Schmidt, Murrieta, SWRNN, U.S. Attorney's office
Email
Bookmark
POST A COMMENT
* Required to comment
-
- Honest to God
15 - UPDATE: Fire in Wildomar at 15 acres; homes no longer threatened 11
- UPDATE: Valle Vista neighborhoods still closed after reports of gunfire; some residents stranded 10
- Look who's turning 1! SWRNN celebrates one-year anniversary 10
- 17-year-old Canyon Lake girl reported missing 8
- Prop 8 struck down by U.S. District judge in San Francisco today 6
- Local photographer will display work at MSJC Menifee campus Sept. 8 6
- Palm Desert DUI checkpoint nabs five drivers 5
- Police: Man uses bodily fluids to taint female co-worker's water bottle 5
- 'Ground Zero Mosque' furor not unlike debate over Temecula Islamic center 5
- Honest to God
-
- Temecula apartment fire confined to room; no injuries reported The fire was reported at 11:49 a.m. at the Morning Ridge Apartments in the 30660 Milky Way Drive.
- Man's cut-short prison sentence for 1983 killing of mother could be renewed Bruce Lisker, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for the 1983 of fatally beating and stabbing his 66-year-old mother, Dorka, at her Sherman Oaks home. He was 17 years old at the time and using drugs.
- Brush fire near Campo by Pacific Crest Trail spreads to 300 acres The blaze created highly visible black smoke as it spread to the edge of Star Ranch, a working horse and cattle ranch and historical attraction.
- Los Angeles Unified votes to overhaul teacher evaluation process UTLA officials have been critical of a decision by the Los Angeles Times to post report cards for thousands of teachers, based on their students' scores on standardized tests.
- Menifee boy walks to save hearts after surviving rare heart condition In his short life, he has found something bigger to participate in each year -- the American Heart Association’s San Diego Heart Walk. Michael, along with Team Beat It members made up of family, friends and his past and present teachers, plans to walk in this year’s event on Sept. 19.
- Student who threatened community college professor in SD County arrested Oscar Torres, 22, also allegedly threatened the college community.
