NIH Employee Tallies $22K in Personal Charges on Work Credit Card

BETHESDA, MD — A former National Institutes of Health employee will spend time in prison for using a government credit card to go on a $22,000 shopping spree, authorities said.

Francesca Maria Daniele, 49, of LaPlata, was sentenced recently to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with the misuse of her government credit card. She was also ordered to forfeit and pay restitution of $22,338.67, prosecutors said in a news release.

In July 2014, Daniele worked at the National Institutes of Health, purchasing equipment from vendors and administering contracts on behalf of NIH. According to her plea agreement, from July 12 to 28, 2014, Daniele used her government credit card to fraudulently charged $21,830.19 of personal purchases at retail stores.

Prosecutors say Daniele used her cell phone to call the credit card’s customer service center to approve the purchases. To conceal the scheme, she falsely reported that her credit card had been lost.

Additionally, on October 15, 2014, Daniele opened a credit card account in the name of her child. She used the credit card to buy a laptop computer, video game console, a ring and other items, all of which were shipped to a hotel room she rented under an assumed name.