BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Two former Bureau of Land Management employees in Virginia are charged with defrauding the federal government, one by abandoning his federal job and returning to Montana to work for the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the other by covering up his absence.
The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1pWDVvw ) 66-year-old Larry Ray Denny of Box Elder and 60-year-old John Grimson Lyon of Clifton, Virginia pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, false claims and theft of government property during recent arraignments in U.S. District Court in Great Falls.
Prosecutors allege Denny left his BLM job in Springfield, Virginia in July 2012 to “overcome health-related issues” and that Lyon gave him an “exceptional” job performance review in 2012 and used federal health care laws to avoid answering questions about Denny’s supposed health problems.
The government is seeking $112,000 in restitution.
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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
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