Coast Guard Petty Officer Headed To Prison For Stealing More Than $600,000 In Government Property

HOUSTON – Brandon Lee Scott, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class, of Dickinson, has been ordered to federal prison for using a government-issued credit card to purchase items for his own benefit, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. He pleaded guilty Monday, Feb. 11, 2013.

Today, Vanessa D. Gilmore, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Scott a 37-month sentence to be followed by a term of three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay $617,441.64 in restitution. In handing down the sentence, Judge Gilmore noted that Scott had abused a position of trust and imposed a sentence at the maximum sentencing guideline range.

At the hearing in support of his guilty plea, Scott, 29, acknowledged the United States could prove he utilized a government issued credit card to buy nearly $3000 worth of electronics for his personal benefit. On June 30, 2011, Scott admitted he used a J.P. Morgan Chase purchase card to buy a 55-inch Samsung High Definition television set and two 10-inch Android WiFi g tablets having a total value of $2,659.97.
 
Previously released on bond, Scott was permitted to remain on bond and to voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charge against Scott resulting in the plea and sentence was the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.