Cummings Commends Successful Prosecution of Agency Employee

Washington, DC—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice announced a criminal plea agreement with John C. Beale, a former employee of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who duped his attorney and his family by pretending to be an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) while defrauding federal taxpayers of nearly $900,000 in unearned salary and other benefits:

"It is an irony and a shame that Mr. Beale's impersonation of a CIA agent forced our nation's law enforcement and intelligence officials to spend their scarce time and resources uncovering his fraud instead of combating real terrorist threats around the globe. I commend the excellent work of investigators at the EPA Office of Inspector General and prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice who brought Mr. Beale to justice, as well as EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for finally taking steps to uncover this decades-long fraud."

Earlier today, the Department of Justice announcedthat Mr. Beale pled guiltyto a federal charge of theft of government property. He also agreed to serve a criminal sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and pay restitution of $886,186 and a forfeiture money judgment of $507,207.