Ex-Staffer Of Rep. Brad Schneider Admits To Embezzling Taxpayer Money

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Brad Schneider's former director of operations admitted to embezzling taxpayer money by falsifying payroll forms.

Sterling Carter, 24, of Glenwood, Georgia, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of theft of public funds.

While working as operations director for the 10th District representative, Carter was responsible for managing the office budget and processing paychecks and bonuses for all employees in the office, according to court records.

Over the course of more than a year, Carter produced phony paperwork to grant himself massive, unapproved raises from Schneider's office, authorities said.

Carter collected more than $80,000 in unauthorized payments from the U.S. House of Representatives' Office of Payroll and Benefits by filling out payroll authorization forms that inflated his own salary, according to an FBI agent that investigated the case.

Frank D'Amico, an FBI agent specializing in public corruption, said in an affidavit in support of the charge that Carter signed Schneider's name on the payroll forms without authorization.

In November 2019, Carter submitted a form temporarily boosting his salary from $54,000 to $138,000, which resulted in him receiving about $6,000 extra on that month's paycheck, according to the agent's affidavit.

D'Amico said Carter boosted his salary again the next month, submitting a form increasing his salary from $54,000 to $126,000, effective Dec. 19, 2019. That led to taxpayers paying him an additional $75,000 over the course of the next 13 months — more than doubling his approved salary.

"Carter concealed these unauthorized payments to himself by, among other actions, presenting [Schneider's chief-of-staff] an inaccurate spreadsheet of the salaries and bonuses of the employees in [Schneider's] congressional office, which did not reveal Carter's inflated salary," D'Amico said.

Matt Fried, Schneider's communications director, said in a statement that Carter was terminated from his position in the congressman's office on Jan. 13, 2021.

“The office then began working closely with the Department of Justice to uncover and seek justice for funds lost through fraud and abuse of Carter's position as director of operations," Fried said. "The office is determined to pursue justice for American taxpayers, repayment for the loss to the U.S. Treasury, and to make right by the U.S. Congress."

Carter was arrested in February in Georgia and entered a guilty plea at his arraignment this week.

Patch has requested comment from Sterling's defense attorney, Robert Lee Jenkins Jr., who earlier told the website Law & Crime that Sterling accepts responsibility for his conduct and hopes "to put this episode behind him and move on with his life."

Sentencing memos from attorneys for both sides are due by July 21, and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 28. Sterling faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, although he is likely to receive a much shorter sentence due to his swift admission of guilt.