A former Illinois congressman’s employee has admitted to stealing public cash in order to boost his salary and incentive payments.
While working as the Director of Operations for Rep. Brad Schneider, Sterling Carter, 24, acknowledged to submitting bogus paperwork that exaggerated the amount of money he earned (D-Ill.).
Carter was in charge of the office budget, as well as the handling of payroll and bonus payments for all office staff, including himself.
Carter got approximately $79,500 in improper salary and bonus payments, according to prosecutors.
Carter was in charge of completing out needed documentation, known as PAFs (Payroll Authorization Forms), whenever Schneider or his chief of staff allowed a pay rise or bonus, according to the criminal complaint. Carter would append Schneider’s signature to the document and send it to the US as part of the protocol. The Office of Payroll and Benefits of the House of Representatives.
Bonuses were obtained by filing papers indicating a temporary pay rise corresponding to a certain bonus amount, followed by paperwork restoring a salary to its previous level.
Despite the fact that Carter was not authorized to sign the document on Schneider’s behalf, prosecutors said he did so nonetheless.
Carter, in particular, submitted an unlawful PAF on Nov. 1, 2019, temporarily boosting his pay from $54,000 to $138,000, resulting in a $6,000 bonus that month.
Carter submitted a new PAF in December 2019, raising his compensation to $126,000. He appears to have never submitted documentation to change his pay to the approved level.
Carter is said to have collected $74,491.67 in unlawful salary payments from December 2019 to January 2021 as a result of this. Prosecutors claim he concealed the money from his bosses and the House payroll office.
Schneider’s office did not reply to a request for comment right away. The United States is about to sentence Sterling. On July 28, District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointment, was sworn in.
