18 Months for Theft of More Than $800,000

Former U.S. Embassy Haiti Employee Jean G. Saint-Joy Sentenced

This came from DOJ yesterday: A former employee at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from the U.S. Department of State.

Jean G. Saint-Joy, 44, aka Gary Saint-Joy, aka Garry Saint-Joy, a citizen of Haiti, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina to pay restitution in the amount of the theft. Saint-Joy pleaded guilty on Feb. 5, 2009, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Saint-Joy admitted that beginning in approximately 2003 and continuing until early 2008, he engaged in a scheme to embezzle funds from the State Department. According to court documents, Saint-Joy was employed as a cashier by the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from approximately 1995 until July 2008. As part of this scheme, Saint- Joy admitted he submitted and caused to be submitted false and fraudulent documents to the State Department claiming that he required reimbursement for the payment of legitimate embassy expenses.

According to court documents, Saint-Joy illegally obtained approximately $428,639 from the State Department as a result of the scheme. Saint-Joy also admitted he provided and caused to be provided false and fraudulent requests for cash advances from the embassy’s cash advance accounts with two banks in Port-au-Prince. According to court documents, Saint-Joy illegally obtained approximately $50,000 from one account and approximately $371,627 from the other account. The total amount of Saint-Joy’s theft was approximately $849,000.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Ethan H. Levisohn and Marc Levin of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, which is headed by William M. Welch, II. The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State.