Donny Campbell, a former National Park Service employee, has admitted to stealing almost $40,000 from the government by filing false overtime claims. Campbell, 48, who worked in maintenance at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, submitted timesheets for hundreds of hours that he did not work between January 2017 and June 2019, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
"Federal employees are expected to be responsible stewards of taxpayer money," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg in the announcement of Campbell's guilty plea, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. "When they abuse that trust, it diminishes public confidence that those dollars are spent appropriately." Campbell's actions not only broke the law but also breached the trust placed in federal employees to handle public funds with integrity.
Campbell has agreed to a plea deal that includes his resignation, a promise never to seek federal employment again, and the repayment of the full amount he wrongly received. His sentencing is scheduled for January 23, with U.S. Magistrate Judge John H. Rains IV presided over the case. The U.S. Attorney's statement notes that while the court will refer to the United States Sentencing Guidelines, these guidelines are advisory, and the actual sentence could vary.
The Department of the Interior - Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation that led to Campbell's charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett L. Bradford and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot prosecuted the case. Special Agent in Charge at the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General, Katie Balestra, expressed satisfaction with the case's progress stating, "Our office will continue to investigate these types of cases to ensure government resources are expended appropriately," as noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
