Washington, D.C. – Karin Coppens, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) since 1985, has pleaded guilty to embezzling $178,611.87 from MPD in one of the largest time and attendance fraud cases in the history of the department, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Coppens, 49, pleaded guilty earlier today to a one-count Information charging theft from a program receiving federal funds in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer. The case is now set for sentencing on December 19, 2008. At sentencing, the defendant faces a possible sentence of up to ten years of incarceration, a fine of up to $250,000, and an obligation to make restitution for the amounts embezzled from MPD. Under the voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant faces between twelve and eighteen months of incarceration and a fine of between $3,000 and $30,000.

According to a Statement of Facts adopted by Ms. Coppens, from August 2004 through June 2008, Coppens submitted bogus weekly time sheets that included more than 3400 hours of overtime for work purportedly performed as part of MPD’s Photo Radar Overtime Program – a program that allows officers to earn overtime pay for enforcing traffic violations. Coppens was never trained to participate in that program and never performed any work as part of that program. Rather, Coppens forged the signature of a supervisor on more than 94 time sheets making the crime almost undetectable. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Coppens admitted to receiving $178,611.87.

In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the hard work of the investigative agents involved in this matter, especially Special Agent James McGwire of the Metropolitan Police Department Internal Affairs Division. He also acknowledged the efforts of Auditor Robert Jodoin, as well as Assistant United States Attorney John W. Borchert, who is prosecuting this matter.