Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 1 of 13 14751133} UNITED STATES DESTRECT comm" IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTALBUQUERQUE NEW MEMO- FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO MAR 1 3 2019 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, MITCHELL R. ELFERS CLERK Plaintiff, Case No. M494 W3 vs. Counts 1-49: 18 U.S.C. 641?Theft and Conversion of Federal Funds JOSHUA B. CORDOVA, Defendant. INDICTMENT The Grand Jury charges: GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 1. Sandia National Laboratories is a research facility owned by the government of the United States. During the periods material to this Indictment, SNL was operated by government contractors for the United States Department of Energy. From approximately 1993 through April 2017, Sandia Corporation managed SNL. Beginning on May 1, 2017, National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (N TESS), assumed responsibility for the operation of SNL. primary facilities and management of?ces are situated in New Mexico. 2. JOSHUA B. CORDOVA, the defendant, was employed at SNL by Sandia Corporation and NTESS from approximately 2010 to December 2018. As part of his duties, CORDOVA provided training to military, law enforcement and emergency response personnel in the use of equipment developed by SNL. 3. On or about November 2012, CORDOVA applied for and was issued the ?rst in a series of three SNL Procurement Cards (also referred to as Purchase Cards). Those SNL Procurement Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 2 of 13 Cards were credit cards issued by US. Bank and funded by the United States Department of Energy for the limited purpose of enabling CORDOVA to procure equipment and materials necessary to the performance of his duties at SNL. Equipment and goods purchased with the SNL Procurement Cards were the property of the United States, and private receipt, retention or conversion of such property was not authorized. In the Agreement to Participate in Sandia National Laboratories Procurement Card Program that accompanied his application, CORDOVA expressly acknowledged ?that the card issued to me is for company approved purchases only? and agreed ?not to charge personal items on the procurement card.? 4. Beginning not later than August 2014 and continuing until on or about October 2018, CORDOVA fraudulently used SNL Procurement Cards that had been assigned to him to expend government funds to purchase hundreds of items that were neither authorized nor necessary to the performance of his duties at SNL. Those unauthorized purchases included: jewelry; clothing; shoes; sunglasses; golf clubs and accessories; exercise equipment; GPS watches; toys; tires; dog food; barber chairs; a barber pole; hair care supplies; hair salon furniture; building materials; espresso makers; coolers; cellular telephones; computer tablets; televisions; home theater sets; and home appliances. CORDOVA unlawfully received, retained and converted that property for his personal use and the use of his family and others. 5. As part of Procurement Card program, CORDOVA was required to provide a reconciliation or accounting of charges to his assigned SNL Procurement Cards. For most of that period, SNL did not regularly require holders of SNL Procurement Cards to submit receipts or other proof of purchases but instead relied upon card holders? representations and descriptions regarding charges to their assigned Procurement Cards. 6. Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 3 of 13 To conceal his fraudulent use SNL Procurement Cards and perpetuate his continuing scheme, CORDOVA disguised his fraudulent transactions in his reconciliation accounting. For example: (C) On or about July 12, 2016, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been issued to him to buy a diamond engagement ring (described as a 1.57 Carat Princess Cut Designer Four Prong Round Diamond Engagement Ring) from an on-line retailer at a cost of approximately $3,429. That diamond ring was delivered to a house where CORDOVA then resided in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. In his reconciliation of charges to his assigned SNL Procurement Card, CORDOVA falsely represented that this charge was for the purchase of: ?Grid Aim Kit, 3-Grid Boards, 1- Tri-Pod, 1-Wep Mount, 1-XRS Adapt, l-Fiducial, 1-Tool set, l-Aim Finder etc.? On or about May 31, 2017, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been issued to him to purchase a table (described as a Steve Silver Company Tournament Dining Game Table) from an on?line retailer at a cost of approximately $628. That table was delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque. CORDOVA fraudulently described this purchase as: ?1 Pelican 1650 with foam cut out top zipper packs 1 Pelican 1510 with foam.? On or about August 22, 2017, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been issued to him to purchase four (4) barber chairs (described as Armstead Professional Reclining Barber Chairs) from an on-line retailer for approximately $2,199. (Those chairs were in addition to: ?ve Barber Pub All Purpose Hydraulic Barber Chairs purchased on May 30 2017; one Truman?s Barber Chair purchased on June 1, 2017; and three LCL Beauty Salon Styling Station Packages purchased on July 13, 2017.) These Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 4 of 13 barber chairs were delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. CORDOVA disguised this purchase in his accounting as: ?6 men/redo tripods 550.? On or about August 24, 2017, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been issued to him to buy a Samsung Curved 55? 4K Ultra HD Smart LED television from an on?line retailer for approximately $899. That television was delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. In his reconciliation, CORDOVA fraudulently described this purchase as: ?1 full kit 0 12 items Bosch power tools.? On or about August 28, 2017, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been entrusted to him to buy a diamond wedding band (described as a 1.40 Carat 14K White Gold Princess Round Diamond Ladies Anniversary Wedding Band) from an on? line retailer for approximately $944. Like the engagement ring and other merchandise that preceded it, this wedding band was delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. To conceal the nature of this purchase in his accounting, CORDOVA described it as: ?2 carbon ?ber Manfredo 510 tripods.? On or about June 18, 2018, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been assigned to him to buy a trampoline (described as a Skywalker 15? Rectangle Trampoline with Enclosure) from an on-line retailer for approximately $571. That trampoline was delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. CORDOVA disguised this purchase in his reconciliation reporting as: ?3 Pe[l]ican case wfVelcro packs.? On or about July 11, 2018, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 5 of 13 issued to him to buy two (2) home theater sets (described as 5.1 Home?Theater Sets with Sonos Play Sub and Playbar) from an on-line retailer for approximately $3,720. These sets were delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. In his accounting for the charge to his assigned SNL Procurement Card, CORDOVA falsely represented that he had purchased ?10 switches.? On or about August 28, 2018, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been issued to him to buy two (2) (described as Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac radial tires) from an on?line retailer for approximately $528. Those tires were delivered to residence in southwest Albuquerque, New Mexico. CORDOVA concealed the nature of this purchase in his accounting by representing that he had purchased: ?3 Pelican cases w/foam cutout.? On or about September 13, 2018, CORDOVA used a SNL Procurement Card that had been assigned to him to buy a refrigerator (described as an LG 26.2 cubic foot stainless steel French?door refrigerator) from a store in Los Lunas, New Mexico, for $2,018.99. That refrigerator was delivered to a residence in northwest Albuquerque, New Mexico, that CORDOVA then shared with his wife. In his accounting for charges to the SNL Procurement Card entrusted to him, CORDOVA falsely described this purchase as: ?De Walt batteries, 3 De Walt torque drills, 2 power cords.? On or about that same day, September 13, 2018, CORDOVA used one of the SNL Procurement Cards that had been issued to him to also purchase a washing machine (described as a white Samsung 5.2 cubic foot top load washing-machine) and a clothes dryer (described as a white Samsung 7.4 cubic boot electric dryer) from a store in Los Lunas, New Mexico, for $1,802.92. These appliances were delivered to the home of Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 6 of 13 ex-wife, in Los Lunas, New Mexico. CORDOVA disguised this purchase in his reconciliation as: ?CatS cable 3bx-150?, cable reels, power cords, power blocks, 7. Charges incurred on SNL Procurement Cards assigned to CORDOVA (as well as charges incurred on SNL Procurement Cards issued to other employees) were billed directly to SNL on or around the 10th day of each month. SNL employees downloaded the aggregate Procurement Card statements from a US. Bank website. SNL thereafter electronically effected payment to US. Bank. Upon receipt of the SNL Procurement Card statements, Travel and Treasury Department in New Mexico submitted electronic authorization for payment of accrued SNL Procurement Card charges to US. Bank via the internet. US. Bank, in turn, relayed that electronic authorization to the Federal Reserve Bank in Virginia to draw funds from a Department of Energy account that was used to ?nd operations. The United States Reserve Bank transmitted or credited funds to accounts at US. Bank for payment of charges to SNL Procurement Cards as well as other expenses and obligations. 8. Through this scheme, CORDOVA used SNL Procurement Cards to purchase hundreds of items that that he fraudulently purloined for his personal use. As a further part of this scheme, CORDOVA converted federal funds for his personal purposes. In aggregate, CORDOVA caused more than $173,000 to be drawn from the United States Department of Energy?s account at the Federal Reserve Bank to pay for his fraudulent purchases. Counts 1 to 49 Paragraphs 1 through 8 of the General Allegations set forth above are re-alleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 7 of 13 Or about each date set forth in Counts 1 to 49, in Bemalillo County, in the District of New Mexico, and elsewhere Within the jurisdiction of this Court, Defendant JOSHUA B. CORDOVA willfully and knowingly did embezzle, steal, purloin, and convert to his own use, money of the United States in an aggregate sum of more than $1,000. US. Treasury Approximate Sum Count On or About Payment Number Converted to Pay Fraudulent Charges 1 September 16, 2014 140916029113 $3,461.59 2 October 16, 2014 141016030929 $2,292.09 3 November 14, 2014 141114035914 $799.87 4 December 16, 2014 141216032883 $1,827.08 5 January 14, 2015 150114031798 $158.82 6 February 13, 2015 150213034645 $2,426.70 7 April 15, 2015 150415041794 $2,843.94 8 May 20, 2015 150520034401 $862.09 9 June 15, 2015 150615040379 $983.00 10 July 14,2015 150714031694 $1,862.45 11 August 12, 2015 150812030441 $2,503.77 Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 8 of 13 US. Treasury Approximate Sum Count On or About Payment Number Converted to Pay Fraudulent Charges 12 September 15, 2015 150915040276 $697.99 13 October 20, 2015 151020030970 $2,883.18 14 November 13, 2015 151113036473 $578.14 15 December 14, 2015 151214035330 $416.99 16 January 13, 2016 160113030647 $941.32 17 February 12, 2016 160212036232 $1,152.57 18 March 22, 2016 16032203 0028 $1,770.02 19 April 14,2016 160414035452 $1,057.55 20 May 16, 2016 160516038344 $432.96 21 June 15, 2016 160615043341 $667.50 22 July 13,2016 160713033459 $725.41 23 August 19, 2016 160819037398 $4,186.56 24 September 14, 2016 160914037951 $3,345.83 25 October 13, 2016 161013041204 $1,301.25 Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 9 of 13 U.S. Treasury Approximate Sum Count On or About Payment Number Converted to Pay Fraudulent Charges 26 November 18, 2016 161118041860 $1,339.16 27 December 16, 2016 161216042240 $1,949.72 28 January 17, 2017 170117056601 $236.93 29 February 16, 2017 170216033689 $114.64 30 March 15, 2017 170315043165 $760.26 31 April 13, 2017 170413040786 $953.87 32 May 15, 2017 170515045722 $665.90 33 June 19, 2017 170619037534 $3,768.38 34 July 18, 2017 170718034399 $2,592.83 35 August 15, 2017 170815041833 $6,807.16 36 September 15, 2017 170915048620 $8,923.27 37 October 12, 2017 171012040970 $2,764.73 38 December 1, 2017 171201057177 $5,141.48 39 December 13?14, 2017 171214040656 $6,714.55 Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 10 of 13 Approximate Sum Count On or About P?If1eII?181irger Converted to Pay Fraudulent Charges 40 January 12, 2018 180112046057 $7,343.61 41 February 14, 2018 180214035438 $2,254.82 42 March 14, 2018 180314035320 $8,679.18 43 April 16, 2018 180416050792 $7,841.73 44 May 17, 2018 180517037266 $6,782.22 45 June 13, 2018 180613038733 $17,311.09 46 July 13, 2018 180713042320 $5,426.20 47 August 15,2018 180815047152 $15,939.35 48 September 12, 2018 180912035657 $6,688.60 49 October 12, 2018 181012043213 $12,603.97 Allin Violation of 18 U.S.C. 641. 10 Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 11 of 13 FORFEITURE ALLEGATION Paragraphs 1 through 8 of the General Allegations and Counts 1 through 49 of this Indictment are incorporated as part of this section of the indictment as if fully re-alleged herein for the purpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c). Upon conviction of any of the felony offenses charged in Count 1 to Count 49 of this indictment in Violation of 18 U.S.C. 641, defendant JOSHUA B. CORDOVA shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. 246(c) any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to such violation, or a conspiracy to commit such offense. The property to be forfeited includes, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Personal Property: Any personal property purchased with a SNL Procurement Card issued to defendant including: a. One (1) 1.57 Carat Princess Cut Designer Four Prong Round Diamond Engagement Ring; b. One (1) 1.40 Carat 14K White Gold Princess Round Diamond Ladies Anniversary Wedding Band; c. One (1) Samsung Curved 55" 4K Ultra HD Smart LED Model UNSSMU6500 television; d. One (1) Steve Silver Company Tournament Dining Game Table; e. Four (4) Armstead Professional Reclining Barber Chairs Model f. Two (2) 5.1 Home Theater Sets with Sonos Play Sub and Playbar; g. One (1) Skywalker Trampolines 15' Rectangle Trampoline with Enclosure; ll Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 12 of 13 h. Two (2) Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrao Radial LT275170R18 125Q tires; i. One (1) Samsung 5.2 cubic foot, white top load washing machine, model j. One (1) Samsung 7.4 cubic foot, white electric dryer, model k. One (1) LG 26.2 cubic foot stainless steel French-door refrigerator model 1. One (1) UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller baby stroller; In. One (1) UPPAbaby MESA Infant Car Seat; n. One (1) UPPAbaby MESA Base; 0. Tour Edge HT Mas-J junior seven-club golf set with bag; p. Callaway Women?s Strata seven-club golf set; q. Pair of two (2) 14K white gold diamond earrings; 2. Money Judgment: A sum of money representing the property constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to the offense, or conspiracy to commit such offense; and 3. Substitute Assets: If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the defendant: a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (1. has been substantially diminished in value; or e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without dif?culty, l2 Case Document 2 Filed 03/13/19 Page 13 of 13 it is the intent of the United States to seek forfeiture pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 853(p) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c) of any other property of the defendant up to the value of the forfeitable property described above. A TRUE BILL: FOREPERSON OF THE GRAND JURY I. istant United States Attog??y (i . 3/8/2019 11:22 AM 13