Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
Monday, September 14, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rapid City Man Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Theft of Government Property
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of 2 counts of Wire Fraud and 1 count of Theft of Government Property was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Robert Rodney Bland, age 52, was sentenced on September 4, 2020, to 12 months in federal prison, and was ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $75,000 in restitution to the General Services Administration (GSA).
Between January 2010 and May 2018, Bland, while sole owner and operator of Motive Magic Mobile Windshield Repair, fraudulently billed GSA for hundreds of rock chip repairs he did not perform on dozens of vehicles leased to various federal agencies. On 1 vehicle, Bland claimed to have repaired 71 rock chips, but in reality only completed 2 repairs. On another vehicle, Bland claimed to have repaired 44 rock chips, but in actuality repaired none. The majority of the time, the agency which leased the GSA vehicle was unaware that the claimed repair had been billed to GSA because Bland would not notify the agency representative or provide invoices to the agency before or after billing for a claimed repair. In total, Bland fraudulently billed and was paid $75,000 by GSA for work he had not performed. Bland used the fraudulent proceeds to purchase and/or pay for a pontoon boat, boat trailer, Harley Davidson motorcycle, 5th wheel camper, and a van, all for his personal use. Each of these vehicles were seized and forfeited to the United States.
"GSA relies on vendors across the United States to maintain its large fleet of government vehicles. The judgment in this case proves that GSA OIG, along with our investigative partners, will pursue vendors who defraud the Government and take advantage of the trust that is placed in them,” said Special Agent in Charge Jamie Willemin, General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General.
The investigation was conducted by the General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General, the Department of Health and Human Services -Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Bland was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his sentence.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice press release.
