A former National Institutes of Health employee pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud for using her government-issued credit card to buy more than $22,000 worth of items, including a ring, laptop and video game console.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt announced that Francesca Maria Daniele, 49, of LaPlata pleaded guilty in the case. As part of her plea agreement, Daniele agreed to pay restitution of $22,338.67.
From July 12 to 28, 2014, prosecutors say Daniele used her government-issued credit card to buy items for herself and then shipped them to a hotel room she rented under an assumed name. Her job at NIH was to purchase equipment from vendors and administer contracts for the Bethesda-based research institution.
Daniele attempted to conceal the scheme by claiming that her credit card had been lost, according to prosecutors. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced March 8 in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
