Washington, D.C. – Charles E. Ingram, a former Smithsonian Institution Museum security guard, has pled guilty to one count of false statement to obtain federal compensation, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell, and Smithsonian Institution Inspector General A. Sprightley Ryan, announced today.

Ingram, 46, of Temple Hills, MD, entered his guilty plea on September 16, 2008, in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola. The Honorable Ellen S. Huvelle is scheduled to sentence Ingram on December 8, 2008. As a result of the guilty plea, Ingram could face up to 16 months in prison under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

According to a Statement of Facts submitted by the government to the Court and agreed to by Ingram, Ingram had been employed as a museum protection officer by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In May 2001, Ingram reported an on-the-job injury that, based upon the records he submitted, rendered him disabled. Because of his disability, Ingram began receiving compensation benefits from the DOL’s Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs in September 2001. To continue to receive these benefits, Ingram was required to annually submit forms certifying that he was unable to work. Beginning in November 2003, and continuing through February 2008, Ingram submitted forms on five occasions in which he failed to disclose that he was able to work, but had been employed as an armed security guard for private security firms. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Ingram admitted receiving $87,151.22 in disability benefits that he was not entitled.

In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor, DOL Inspector General Heddell and Smithsonian Institution Inspector General Ryan praised the hard work of the investigative agents involved in this matter, especially Special Agents David Fargnoli of the DOL Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and Michael Pickett of the Smithsonian Institution Office of the Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of Legal Assistant Lisa Robinson, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe, who is prosecuting this matter.