United States Attorney's Office
Eastern District of California
January 12, 2016
Modesto Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing More Than $316,000 of Government Property from the Tracy DLA Depot
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eric M. Shaffer, 42, of Modesto, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to one year and a day in prison for theft of Department of Defense property worth more than $316,000, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Shaffer was an employee at the Department of Defense Logistics Agency, San Joaquin Distribution Center, in Tracy, (Tracy DLA Depot). Shaffer regularly had access to new goods delivered by venders that were stored at the Tracy DLA Depot before being shipped to military bases in the Pacific Ocean region and elsewhere.
Between February 2011, and January 2015, Shaffer stole from the Tracy DLA Depot at least 660 items of government property and resold them in approximately 365 transactions, including 325 auctions on a popular online auction website. Shaffer’s scheme generated approximately $238,000 in illicit revenue. The approximate replacement value of the property Shaffer stole and resold exceeded $316,000. In addition to the prison sentence today, Judge Mendez ordered Shaffer to pay $316,557 in restitution.
This case was the product of an investigation by the General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney André M. Espinosa prosecuted the case.
