Richard Allen, 52, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to being part of a conspiracy to steal more than $850,000 worth of supplies from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Williamsburg.
Allen, of Citrus Heights, Calif., is a retired petty officer first class who served in the Navy for more than 20 years.
Federal prosecutors in Rhode Island said Allen was part of a group that repeatedly broke into Navy warehouses and took body armor, protective plates, working uniforms, winter gear, small arms protective insert plates and infrared flag patches. The group also sold the famous Navy SEAL trident insignia, which symbolizes membership in the elite unit.
“Americans – especially the men and women who have served in uniform – deserve public employees who do their jobs honestly and with integrity,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Richard Allen failed to do both when he selfishly took advantage of his position with the Navy to commit fraud, cheating both his fellow officers and taxpayers. This sentence holds him accountable for his crimes and sends a message loud and clear that this is not the way to go about boosting your bank account.”
According to court records, from 2013 to 2015, the group would rent a cabin inside Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and would drive around to warehouses on base. Allen continued the scheme after he retired.
He was initially arrested in 2018 at the Sacramento International Airport in California.
The Navy supplies were sold to buyers in more than 50 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and South America, including Russia and China.
The case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security, Department of Commerce and the FBI.
“Allen betrayed his oath to the Navy and defrauded the American taxpayer by initiating and perpetuating an illegal scheme to steal and sell U.S. Government property to unauthorized buyers for his and his co-conspirators’ private financial benefit,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Wiest of the NCIS Northeast Field Office. “NCIS remains committed to rooting out criminality within the ranks that threatens warfighter capabilities and readiness.”
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown-Cheatham Annex supplies the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. The base hosts dozens of commands, including Navy Munitions Command Atlantic, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group and Navy Cargo Handling Battalion.
In August, Allen pleaded guilty to six counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy. His sentence also includes three years of supervised release.
