SCRANTON, PA — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jeffrey J. Vaughn, age 50, a patrol sergeant in the Scranton Police Department, pleaded guilty on January 26, 2023, before United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to the offense of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.
The criminal information to which Vaughn pleaded guilty alleges that from July 30, 2021, to April 22, 2022, Vaughn knowingly obtained by fraud over $5,000.00 in compensation that was paid to him for certain extra duty patrol shifts at local, Scranton-area, lower-income housing complexes that Vaughn claimed to work but did not in fact work.
Vaughn acknowledged that the monetary loss attributable to his conduct was between $6,500.00 and $15,000.00, and that he abused a position of public trust, namely, that of police patrol sergeant, in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission of his offense. Vaughn also agreed to make restitution to the affected housing complexes in the amount of $11,243.00.
This case was investigated by the Scranton Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Public Corruption Task Force, which consists of members of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and federal agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffery St John and Philip J. Caraballo are prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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