Hanford Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $100,000 from Lemoore Naval Air Station Autoport

FRESNO, Calif. — Christopher Michael Whitacre, 50, of Hanford, pleaded guilty today to theft in a special maritime or territorial jurisdiction, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between January 1, 2011, and July 31, 2013, Whitacre, who was a supervisor at an auto service center at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, stole approximately $111,900 in cash from the center. Whitacre stole the cash incrementally by accepting money from customers who purchased gasoline at the gas pump but then entering a lower amount for the transaction and pocketing the difference. He changed the dates or amounts of gasoline delivered to the center to cover up the discrepancy between the actual amount of gasoline that was sold and the amount of gasoline purported to be sold through cash register transaction records.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Navy Criminal Investigation Service. Assistant United States Attorney Mia A. Giacomazzi is prosecuting the case.

Whitacre is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 16, 2016. Whitacre faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.