46-Year-Old Melissa Heyer Sentenced To Federal Prison For Submitting False Claims To U.S.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJZ) -- Officials announced that 46-year-old Melissa Heyer was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for submitting false claims to the United States.
Heyer was sentenced for submitting false claims to the United States, specifically for claiming to have worked hours on a government contract when she allegedly was not at work. Judge Russell also ordered Heyer to pay $107,300 in restitution.
According to her plea agreement, Company A was a subcontractor for Company B, providing employees that performed national security duties for the Department of Defense (DOD).
From January 2017 until March 2019, Heyer worked for Company A but was assigned on a day-to-day basis to work for the DOD on national security matters at the National Security Agency (NSA), in Fort Meade, Maryland.
Heyer also held Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance and performed her duties for Company A and the DOD at a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the NSA facility where she worked. She used a badge reader to gain access to the SCIF.
On at least five occasions between January 2017 and March 2019, Heyer falsely represented to her employer that she had been working at the NSA SCIF when she was actually elsewhere. She caused false claims to be submitted to the DOD that resulted in the government paying more than $100,000 to Company A, Company B, and Heyer, to which they and Heyer were not entitled.
In total, as result Heyer knowingly caused the government to be billed for more than 1,200 hours of her time when she had actually not worked.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.