Carpenter’s guilty plea
In the US, an FBI agent has found himself on the wrong side of the law after spending $13,500 of government money. Not only that, but the federal official used the cash for a gambling spree in a Las Vegas casino.
faces a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison
As reported by Reuters, Scott Carpenter faces a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison for his crimes. The 40-year-old pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of conversion of government money as part of a plea deal on Tuesday in a Las Vegas court.
The incident in question occurred in 2017 when Carpenter visited Vegas for an undercover investigation. After completing his work, the FBI agent gambled away $13,500 of government funds on blackjack in a casino’s high-limit room.
US District Judge Gloria Navarro scheduled his sentencing for May 18.
The defense makes its case
Paul Fishman and Mindy Gorin of Arnold and Porter Kaye Scholer defended the FBI Agent in Tuesday’s court hearing. They noted Carpenter’s personal problems at the time of the offense, along with his attempts to right his wrongs.
sought professional help for his alcohol problem”
“Four years ago, Scott made a terrible mistake,” Fishman told the court. “He immediately acknowledged his conduct, reported it to his superiors, sought professional help for his alcohol problem, and made arrangements to repay the FBI.”
Carpenter pled guilty as part of a plea deal. It calls for the FBI agent to receive a sentence of probation rather than jail time. This is something Fishman said prosecutors have recommended due to Carpenter’s “otherwise exemplary service” with the FBI and US Army.
Not the only one
Carpenter is certainly not the first person to misuse funds to feed a gambling habit.
This month, a California judge sentenced a Catholic nun to 366 days in prison for embezzling more than $835,000 in school cash to fund her gambling. She took the tuition money from St. James Catholic School in Torrence.
Similarly, a 37-year-old man from the UK received a three-year prison sentence only last week for stealing more than £200,000 ($272,000) from a medical charity for gambling purposes. The London resident siphoned the funds from his non-profit employer the British Society of Echocardiography over a period of 20 months, gambling with the cash online.