Darien Man Enters Plea In $57,000 Fraud Case Of Military Veteran

DARIEN, CT — A 34-year-old Darien man waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Wednesday to one federal count of wire fraud relating to his theft of more than $57,000 from a former United States Navy service member, announced U.S. Attorney John H. Durham and Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Northeast Field Office.

Christopher Teixeira pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court, and was accused of using the stolen funds to pay his own personal expenses, and transferred $25,000 to another individual’s account, according to prosecutors.

Court documents and statements say the money was taken from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which is the agency of the U.S. Department of Defense that administers all payments to U.S. service members. DFAS operates the "MyPay" online portal, through which service members may provide and obtain information related to payments from DFAS.

"A U.S. Navy service member ('the victim') was scheduled to receive a medical severance payment from the Navy in January 2017," wrote prosecutors in a statement. "The victim provided his MyPay login and password information to Teixeira, who he trusted with certain financial responsibilities. On January 10, 2017, before the victim was to receive the medical severance payment, Teixeira changed the victim’s direct deposit information to a bank account controlled by Teixeira. DFAS then sent the victim’s $57,255.66 medical severance payment to Teixeira’s account. In order to avoid detection, Teixeira logged back into the victim’s MyPay account and reverted the direct deposit instructions back to the victim’s bank account."

Teixeira and the victim after the theft, and instead of admitting to it, Teixeira "told the victim that he would assist in finding the money. When the victim indicated he was in need of funds, Teixeira transferred approximately $6,500 to the victim without telling him that Teixeira had stolen the money."

The charge of wire fraud carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, and Teixeira is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on Feb. 20. He is currently free pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Laraia.

Image via Shutterstock

To sign up for Darien breaking news alerts and more, click here.