ALEXANDRIA, VA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Virginia, Eastern), published as received.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Stafford man pled guilty yesterday to theft of government property relating to his embezzlement of travel funds intended to reimburse Department of War personnel. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
According to court documents, Kevin D. Mickie, 47, was employed by a government contracting firm that provided technical support services to the Department of War, which uses the Defense Travel System (DTS) to manage, approve, and reimburse official government travel for authorized employees and personnel. From November 2019 through February 2023, Mickie managed DTS profiles with authority to view user accounts, reset credentials, and modify profile details, including changing bank account and disbursement information.
Mickie used his access to the DTS accounts to steal and divert $107,316.82 in Department of War travel funds by replacing account holders’ bank and routing numbers with his own, causing reimbursement payments to be disbursed via electronic funds transfers directly into Mickie’s personal bank accounts. After modifying the traveler’s DTS profile, Mickie completed the diversion by either modifying authorized travel vouchers to redirect a portion of legitimate travel reimbursement to himself or by creating fictitious travel authorizations and vouchers for travel that never occurred. Mickie also changed the primary e-mail address associated with the DTS accounts to his own e-mail address.
Although Mickie left his position with the contracting firm in February 2023, his scheme continued through January 2024 because several of the compromised DTS account holders were unaware portions of their travel were being diverted to Mickie’s bank account.
Mickie is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2027, and faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Platte B. Moring III, Inspector General for the Department of War; and Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles accepted the plea. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., assisted in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McManigal is prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-156.
