Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
Friday, July 10, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Former Department of Defense Contracting Officer and Maryland Woman Charged with Defrauding Government
Defendants took numerous government-funded trips together, including 31 trips to Orlando
BOSTON – An Uxbridge man and Maryland woman were charged with conspiring to defraud the government of thousands of dollars from 2014 to 2018.
Thomas Bouchard, 57, of Uxbridge, Mass., was arrested yesterday, and Chantelle Boyd, 50, of Woodsboro, Md., was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2020, and charged with one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of theft of government funds. Boyd was also charged with false declarations before the grand jury.
As alleged in the indictment, Bouchard was the Contracting Officer in charge of the U.S. Army Natick Contracting Division, a full service contracting organization for the Department of Defense. In 2014, Bouchard allegedly used his long-standing relationship with Evolution Enterprise, Inc., a government contractor, to have Boyd hired for a “no show” job as an assistant that specifically supported Bouchard. Boyd’s position cost the Department of Defense more than $490,000 during her time at Evolution from 2014 to 2018, during which she performed little if any useful function.
The indictment alleges that Bouchard and Boyd took numerous government-funded trips, ranging in duration from two to 15 days, under the guise that they were work related. This included 31 trips to Orlando, Fla., among other locations such as Clearwater Beach, Fla., and Stafford, Va., during which Boyd performed little if any work. For many of the trips, Bouchard and Boyd stayed in the same hotel room and spent time at the pool and Disney parks – all during business hours. It is alleged that in order to conceal the personal nature of the trips, Bouchard altered and created false travel expenses for Boyd, which Bouchard approved to reimburse Boyd for out-of-pocket expenses.
In addition, Boyd is charged with making false statements to the grand jury in May 2018 in relation to these trips.
The conspiracy charge provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of 250,000. Each charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of lying to a grand jury provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of 250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Luis A. Hernandez, Special Agent in Charge of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and Michael Connor, Resident Agent in Charge of the Army Criminal Investigations Command, Major Procurement Fraud Unit made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Gotlob of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice press release.
