Tampa Man Charged With Military Recruitment Fraud

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Travis Devall (47, Tampa) with a conspiracy to commit and the commission of wire fraud, theft of government property and funds, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for the conspiracy count, and 20 years’ imprisonment for each wire fraud count. The theft of government property charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He faces a mandatory term of 2 years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft charge. The indictment also notifies Devall that the United States intends to seek a money judgment of approximately $78,000, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

According to the indictment, Devall served for a number of years as a Recruitment Assistant (“RA”) under the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (“GRAP”). The indictment alleges that, from in or about September 2006 and continuing to at least July 2010, Devall falsely reported that he had obtained the recruitment of numerous recruits into the United States Army National Guard when, in truth and in fact, he had not carried out the tasks which he reported to the Department of Defense in that recruitment process. As a result of the false statements made by Devall, he earned substantial bonus payments for the enlistment of those recruits into the United States Army National Guard.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the United States Army Criminal Identification Division. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.