A former chief scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute pleaded guilty after seven years of a court battle for defrauding the institute and the CIA.
Former schief scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute pleads guilty to defrauding funds. (Photo: GRIT)
Former Chief Scientist Pleaded Guilty
James G. Maloney, 57 years old, pleaded guilty to defrauding the Georgia Tech Research Institute and CIA when he worked as the Chief Scientist. His other co-conspirators of the crime were James J. Acree and James D. Fraley, III who both pleaded guilty to the same charges in 2016.
In a published article in FOX News, it took seven years before Maloney pleaded guilty to the allegations filed against him. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a press release, said, “These defendants violated the trust placed in them by Georgia Tech and the CIA in allowing their judgment to be clouded by greed.”
He also added, “The seven-year delay in resolving Maloney’s case resulted from Maloney’s ploy to evade criminal liability by threatening to reveal classified information during the course of his trial in a failed attempt to force the government to dismiss the case. But as Maloney discovered, the government will not be bullied or threatened by a criminal defendant.”
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How Did they Defraud the Georgia Tech Research Institute and CIA
According to a published article on the official website of the U.S. Department of Justice, the scheme started from 2007 but was only found using pieces of evidence in 2013. They were experts in electromagnetic analysis and measurements and used the funds intended for the different projects of the Department of Defense in various ways.
The fraudulent activities include the following:
- They charged about $200,000 on Fraley’s card for personal expenses
- including two four-wheelers and a trailer
- two Sony 52-inch flat-screen televisions
- Apple computers, iPads, a 3D printers
- sports watches with heart-rate monitors
- an uninterruptible power supply for a tennis ball machine
During the investigation, it was also found that they also engaged in outside consulting activity that violates Georgia Tech’s conflict-of-interest policy.
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