Former DOE Engineer Settles Claims of Secretly Working Air Force Contractor Jobs While on Federal Payroll

ALBUQUERQUE – The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it has reached a settlement with a former Department of Energy (DOE) engineer to resolve allegations that he secretly worked for Air Force contractors while holding his full-time DOE position.

Jose A. Nieves was employed as an engineer at DOE's Sandia Field Office. Between April 2021 and September 2021, he allegedly took a second job with Air Force contractor Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE) while still working full-time at DOE. After leaving PAE, he allegedly secured another position with Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) from September 2021 through July 2022, again while maintaining his DOE job.

The government's investigation revealed that Nieves allegedly lied to get these contractor positions. He reportedly told PAE he had retired from DOE when applying for that job. Later, when applying to ASRC, he allegedly claimed his DOE employment had ended. In reality, he kept working at DOE during both contractor jobs.

To maintain the deception, Nieves allegedly submitted false timesheets to both employers during his dual employment. Investigators found he filed 19 fraudulent timesheets with PAE, 24 with ASRC, and 33 with DOE, claiming to work full-time hours at both jobs simultaneously. This scheme allegedly allowed him to collect two government paychecks for overlapping work hours.

The Air Force contractors paid Nieves based on these false timesheets and then sought reimbursement from the government, resulting in improper payments of taxpayer funds. Under the settlement agreement, Nieves will pay the United States $165,000, which includes $156,799.22 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General supported the Government’s investigation. The government’s investigations were led by Assistant United States Attorney Sean M. Cunniff and Auditors Phillip Stella and Julie Chappell and criminal investigators from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.