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By Jim Douglas |
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August 24, 2010 -
A
Jennifer Steplight,
40, is charged by Complaint with one count of embezzlement by a
government employee and one count of false statements.
Steplight appeared
before United States Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz in
According to the
criminal Complaint filed in this case, Steplight was employed by TSA as
a Master Transportation Security Officer-Coordination Center Officer and
was responsible for maintaining records for the TSA lost and found
facility that services |
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From December 2009 through January
2010, Steplight stole four laptop computers from the lost and found
facility and entered false information into TSA claim forms and
inventory records to conceal her thefts. If convicted, Steplight faces a
maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a maximum fine of
$100,000 on the embezzlement charge, and a maximum potential penalty of
five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 on the false
statement charge. U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Michael B. Ward in Newark, with conducting the investigation. He also thanked the Department of Homeland Security?s Office of Inspector General and the Transportation and Security Administration for their work in the case. The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr. of the U.S. Attorney?s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. The TSA was originally organized in the U.S. Department of Transportation but was moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on November 25, 2002. The agency is responsible for security in all modes of transportation. |