Dallas VA employees plead guilty to embezzling $2.9M

DALLAS - Two former employees of the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs pleaded guilty for their role in a $2.9 million embezzlement scheme.

56-year-old Randius McGlown and 54-year-old Charles Gates both pleaded guilty to theft of government funds.

"Using their official government positions to steal millions of taxpayer dollars is an egregious crime that diverts resources from deserving veterans and erodes public trust. These guilty pleas should send a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will diligently investigate those who would misuse their positions to commit fraud," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Patrick Roche of the VA Office of Inspector General’s South Central Field Office. 

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McGlown, the former inventory manager and acquisition utilization specialist at the Dallas VA Medical Center, entered a company that he created, G4 Logistics, into the medical center's vendor system in 2014.

McGlown and Gates then generated phony purchase orders for G4 equipment and materials and used a medical center-issued purchase card to pay the bill.

G4 never delivered any of the items.

The money would be deposited into an account controlled by an individual called J.R. in court documents.

J.R. then withdrew the money, giving most of it to McGlown and Gates, while keeping a bit for himself.

In 2018, McGlown switched from G4 to another company he created, Caprice Electronics.

McGlown created fake invoices for existing items in the medical center's inventory to try to cover up the scheme.

McGlown and Gates are facing up to 10 years in federal prison.