Wedding scheme lands private in jail
Joshua Priest probably thought that he was the first private to ever think that he could put something over on the Army by having a sham marriage and milking them for those big BAQ bucks. It looks like it back-fired once he was caught and even cooperating with the prosecutor didn’t help him out. The sentence started out with 10 months in prison, but the judge didn’t stop there;
In a rare move, U.S. District Judge Monti Belot rejected the prosecution’s request for leniency for Joshua Priest, saying it was not justified in this case. The former Fort Riley private pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and wire fraud, and testified against his wife, Shannakay Hunter.
‘‘The fact you came in and cooperated is fine, but it doesn’t excuse what you did,’’ Belot told the crestfallen defendant during the sentencing hearing.
Belot also ordered Priest to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution for the fraudulently obtained housing and subsistence benefits given married soldiers.
He also admitted to the court that he never met his Jamaican wife before the wedding and that their marriage was never consummated. Don’t feel bad, Joshua, some of our real marriages never get consummated the way we’d hoped.
Brushing aside prosecution’s pleas for leniency, Belot told Priest, “the ‘‘only benefit’’ he would get from the government’s motion was the chance to voluntarily surrender at the prison and not be taken into immediate custody.”
Thanks to Tman for the link.
Category: Crime
Priest may never have consummated the marriage, but that’s ok. He was too busy screwing himself and trying to screw the government for a proper consummatin’.
With all the budget cuts coming down the pipe, it’s high time the military starts cracking down on all the BAH fraud out there as well. Sham leases are much more common than sham mortgages.
ShannaKay Hunter does not seem Jamaican to me, but you know the army’s version of Grottopotomus’s never rest.
The only reason there’s BAH fraud is because the way BAH is allocated is BS to begin with. So let me get this straight — I can tie the knot with some dependasaurus, have her squirt out a few kids we can’t afford to feed and have them all be a strain on the system at large, and not only will the military not punish me, but instead I’ll get rewarded with full BAH plus an extra six grand a year on average?
You’ve got to be kidding me. Hell, I should get a bonus for being single, not charged to support everyone else’s lifestyle.
“Don’t feel bad, Joshua, some of our real marriages never get consummated the way we’d hoped.”
LMAO
His marriage cost him far less in jail time and $$ than most of our marriage(s) did/will. He got off light.
Harrison, How exactly are you supporting everyone else’s lifestyle? If your reasoning is taxes, then my taxes pay for your free food in the chow hall and free room in the barracks.
Last time I checked, Harrison, complying with the law wasn’t optional. And there was no exception for laws with which you disagree.
Isn’t this the same thing this poser pulled over the years? Poser Phil Haberman?
http://www.fakewarriors.org/phonies/phonies546.htm
@7 If there were exceptions, that would be an interesting form of chaos I am certain.
It never ceases to amaze me the sheer number of Privates who think “I have the *perfect* way to scam the system and not get caught!”
6 – haven’t been in the barracks or eaten in the chow hall in awhile, thanks. More of your taxes that could be otherwise allocated are given for no good reason to servicemembers with dependents than those without.
7 – congratulation on your ability to state the obvious while making no intelligible point whatsoever. Do you type just to hear the sound the keys make?
@11, So basically I can sum up your post in two words, “I’m jealous”.
I’d also like to add that everybody in the Military is alloted BAH, both single and married. If you are single and live in the barracks the Army keeps it or pays it to whomever owns the contract for the Barracks. If you are married and live in post housing the Army either keeps it or pays it to whomever owns the contract for post housing. If you live off post on the economy then you recieve either the with or without dependents rate.
Harrison: no. I generally take issue with bloviating fools, though.
Yes, taxes and BAH are unfair to single individuals. That’s true – but it’s also irrelevant. And that fact is in no way justification for this asshole defrauding Uncle Sam out of $30k.
In your comment, you were providing a rationalization for his fraud by implying he was justified because the “system” was “unfair”. What I did was to point out the fallacy of your argument, indirectly – as well as to point out, again indirectly, that you were engaging in an invalid argument of the type known as a non sequitur. Apparently that was a bit too subtle an argument for you to follow.
Sorry you weren’t sharp enough to figure that out for yourself, lad. Had you been able to do that, you might have saved yourself a bit of public embarrassment – twice.
@13
Sorry, I should have clarified. I’m Guard, so when we get mobilized for deployment, single soldiers who live at home or got out of their lease for the deployment suddenly come up with lease agreements that they will be ‘paying’ while they are gone. Some are real lease contracts, but they are for a single joe paying his parents to store his crap. Others are pure BS. Either way, the Army pays BAH to soldiers who don’t have housing bills.
He committed a crime. He committed a very stupid crime. He exacerbated his self-created bad situation by betting that the judge would accept the non-binding recommendation of the prosecutor. He lost the bet. He will soon get what he sought: a free ride in which he pays for nothing, courtesy of the taxpayer.
Twist – I prefer to think of it as doing my part to prevent fraud, waste and abuse by the federal government. How many fotune 500 companies can you name that pay their employees more for being married? Do you think we should be acting similar to or wildly different from these successforganizations? If we operate differently, should we have a better reason than “we’ve always done it this way” or “they need more to support a personal choice they made”?
Hondo – I can tell I’m wasting my time here. Back to your coloring book, now.
Harrison: if you’re trying to justify illegal behavior by claiming it’s OK because “the system is unfair”, you’re indeed wasting your time. And not just here, or with me.
Fortune*, successful organizations*, before anyone says anything. Always fun typing on a phone
So a private get’s 10 months in Leavenworth and gets to pay the Army Back.
But a General or a Colonel (and ring knocker) avoids the jail time and keep his retirement, just as long as he can come up with the cash to pay the Army back. (and how is it these guys always have the six-figure sums to write a check)
Stories like this remind me of why as a NCO I love my soldiers but hate Big Army sometimes.
Sandman: he wasn’t a private, amigo. He was an ex-soldier at the time of trial. He was tried as a civilian in Federal criminal court.
Seems the Federal courts are a worse place to get tried than a courts-martial these days.
You may not like it, but results have nothing to do with fairness or equity. So, yes, if the process was fair, the General versus Former Private’s results are fine. It’s that damn law thing.
I’m with Sandman on this one. COL Johnson committed bigamy and huge amounts of fraud, waste and abuse and got essentially a slap on the wrist from his ring-knocking buddies. PVT Snuffy goes into a “sham” marriage and gets jail time.
I put sham in quotes because, reading the article, it appears he actually did MARRY that woman, whether or not they ever consummated the marriage or whether or not he met her before. A marriage of convenience is still a legal marriage, isn’t it?
Granted, I’m not saying that he didn’t do something that is morally (and apparently legally) wrong, but there is a certain amount of unfairness here. And yes, I know life isn’t fair and anybody who says it should be is in fantasy land. Just saying.
Last time I had dealings with a Jamaican woman, things did not work out either.
Hey I know how to get more money…Ill get married! Says someone who has never been married and does not know how marriage works. Whats hers is hers and what is mine is hers.
My point, folks, was that the processes are not directly comparable. James “Bigamist” Johnson received trial by a military courts-martial while still on active duty. This guy got tried in Federal civilian court after his ETS. Those two court systems are rather different.
If the systems are different, comparing the results doesn’t tell you much regarding whether or not Johnson got off “easy” or not, or whether this guy got the shaft. You’d have to compare within the same system to make that determination.
Don’t get me wrong. I personally believe Johnson did get off easier than he deserved. IMO he should have done 2 to 5 – years, not months – in Leavenworth and gotten a dismissal (officer equivalent of a DD) to go along with his felony record. But comparing Johnson’s case with this one isn’t exactly a valid comparison. One was a military trial; the other wasn’t.
A better comparison would be with the retired Army MSG who stole several hundred thousand in Army property before he retired and was also tried post-ETS in Federal criminal court. As I recall, he got around 3 years. I’ll see if I can find the link to the article I wrote about that tool.
Update: found the article. The guy I was referring to above also pleaded guilty, but stole a lot more. He got 40 months and had to pay restitution in the amount of $861,000 plus forfeit 4 properties he owned. His wife – and accomplice – got a 5-year suspended sentence.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=32069
One of those sitting around sucking down quality beers with the guys playing “If I ran the Corps”, and I have a serious proposal. Hear me out, and let me know if you agree or disagree, and if so, why.
A bachelor bonus. A troop completes his or her contract with no dependants, and then is awarded a lump sum bonus, maybe $15,000 or $20,000. Here is my justification: Most of the idiots marry their high school sweetheart for a steady piece and no more living in the barracks. When I was growing up in the Corps, my first duty station was 3rd Amtracks (Shout out to Yat Yas). We had, what seemed to me, an inordinate amount of shitbags, with about half of them being married. They would go in front of the man, get found guilty, maxed fines and restriction, but the married guys would have the fines suspended, because they had families to support. That was like pissing in my creamed beef. These guys were getting a lot more out of the Marine Corps (BAH, COMRATS, medical for the rugrats and commisary queen, etc), yet the Marine in the barracks getting by on basic pay gets hammered. You offer the potential of $15K to a troop for keeping track of his pecker, that will save all kinds of money and heartache when it comes to deployment time. Of course, eventually, some will cave, but it would come later on in their career, when hopefully they are a bit more mature and financially stable.
Okay, should I be the next Sec Def or just shut my pie-hole?
So let’s see if I have this right: if USNAV decides to recall little old me to active duty, after 40 years out of it, and I live nearby in my own home, they’ll give me BAQ and COMRATS?
Fine with me. Where do I sign up?
@27–and it’s not just the money and benefits, it’s the standard of living. An actual house on post–or better yet, BAH with which at least around Bragg you can get a pretty nice apartment for half your rate and pocket the remainder–vs. splitting a shitty barracks room with another guy?? DFAC food vs. being able to actually cook your own meals?? Not being subject to barracks inspections?? The two lifestyles aren’t even comparable.
I’m not defending this guy, the law is the law, but if the military wants to get rid of contract marriages then it should get rid of the system where service members are paid (in cash and in quality of life) to be married. Any single junior enlisted soldier who says he’s never at least considered the idea of finding some girl to enter into a contract marriage with is a liar. Myself included (never done it or even seriously considered to it, but I have entertained the option). Start by paying everyone BAH and offering soldiers the option of a crappy barracks/dorm-style room (and pocketing a sizable chunk of their BAH cash), a house on post (at or around the BAH rate), or letting them take their cash to the open market. Likewise, pay everyone BAS–they still have the option of paying cash at the DFAC.
@17–How many fotune 500 companies can you name that pay their employees more for being married?
If you meant “Fortune 500” companies, that would be, uh, all of them, in the form of higher compensation for health/dental and other benefits. And in terms of salaries, it’s a known fact that while SOME married folks tend to miss a little more time here and there due to family obligations, they do tend to rise higher/farther than their single counterparts, much the same way men rise higher up the chain than do women for similar reasons.
Yeah, I was single until AFTER I got off sea duty, and I always thought it was shitty to pay someone based on what they had on their finger versus what they had on their sleeve, but if someone was stupid enough to risk a sham marriage just for a better berthing arrangement, well, as long as they slept better at night.
It is also a fact that foreign women marry soldiers to get a VISA and a chance to remain in the U.S. I wonder if either of them will face any penalties if this is the case. Somehow, I doubt it.