A federal employee at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas has been charged with stealing over $1 million worth of items from the military installation.
Joseph Mora, 35, surrender himself to authorities and has been charged with one count of theft of government property and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud against the U.S. according to an announcement from the Justice Department.
A federal criminal complaint states that Mora has served as a Program Analyst at the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office warehouse since 2013. The complaint alleges that Mora conspired to remove large quantities of sensitive military grade equipment, including rifle scopes, infrared laser aiming devices and thermal night vision goggles, from the facility without authorization. He later sold many of the stolen items on eBay and by other means.
Last Tuesday, federal agents executed a search warrant at the his residence and recovered dozens of items believed to be stolen from Camp Mabry, to include pelican cases containing aiming lights, a pallet of night vision goggles and tripods.
Upon conviction, Mora faces up to ten years in federal prison on the theft charge and up to 20 years in federal prison on the fraud charge. He was released on a $10,000 bond following his initial appearance today in U.S. Magistrate Court in Austin.
The case is being investigated by agents with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command (Army CIC), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Texas Rangers.
A criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt, and the defendant is innocent until proven guilty in court.
