United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man was charged in federal district court with 18 counts of Wire Fraud and one count of Theft of Government Property.

Robert Rodney Bland, age 51, was indicted on May 21, 2019.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on June 6, 2019, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.  The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

The charges relate to Bland fraudulently billing for windshield rock chip repairs that were never done on General Services Administration vehicles.  The charges are merely an accusation and Bland is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the General Services Administration-Office of Inspector General, the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, and the Department of Defense-Office of the Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.

Bland was released pending trial.  A trial date has not been set.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice press release.