Federal prosecutors allege that an Army contractor and his girlfriend exploited government funds to pay for personal vacations across the country, including 31 trips to Orlando.
On October 2, a federal judge sentenced Chantelle Boyd, 53, to six months in home confinement and two years on supervised release. Her sentencing occurred four years after police arrested her and her partner, 61-year-old Thomas Bouchard, in 2020.
The Justice Department stated that both were punished for “conspiring to defraud the government of thousands of dollars” between 2014 and 2018.
Boyd will have to pay restitution, but the amount will be established on a separate date. In August, a judge sentenced Bouchard to 12 months and one day in jail, followed by one year of supervised release. The judge ordered Bouchard to repay $487,658.87 in restitution.
Bouchard led the US Army Natick Contracting Division in Massachusetts, which provided contracting services to the Defense Department. Prosecutors claim he used his connections to get Boyd recruited for a “no-show job” as an assistant.
“Bouchard and Boyd took numerous government-funded trips, ranging in duration from two to 15 days, under the guise that they were work-related,” said the department’s statement.
Their government-funded vacations included 31 trips to Orlando, during which Boyd “performed little if any work.” Prosecutors alleged Boyd’s employment cost the Defense Department about $500,000.
“For many of the trips, Bouchard and Boyd stayed in the same hotel room and spent time at the pool and Disney parks — all during business hours,” the government’s attorneys claimed.
The indictment stated that Boyd also visited Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, and Clearwater, Florida.
Business Insider requested comment from Boyd, Bouchard, the US Army Natick Contracting Division, and the US Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts, but received no response. The Defense Department referred Business Insider to the United States Army.
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