Alexandria Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing $40K In Government Funds

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A former senior government official from Alexandria has pleaded guilty to theft of $40,000 in government money. Haroon K. Ullah, 41, worked for the U.S. Agency for Global Media when he fraudulently obtained the money.

Prosecutors say Ullah submitted falsified hotel invoices and falsified and inflated taxi and Uber receipts. He also billed the government for personal travel that third parties had already paid for. He admitted to forging a letter from a doctor claiming Ullah needed to fly in business class because of a sore knee. As a result, he received costly business class upgrades at government expense, including on lengthy international flights.

In addition, he admitted to submitting falsified invoices and repair estimates for his Alexandria home to an insurance company. He created many of the falsified documents on his government-issued laptop.

Ullah committed the offenses between February and October 2018. He was chief strategy officer for the U.S. Agency for Global Media and previously worked for the U.S. Department of State.

He faces up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced on Oct. 11.