YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A 374th Maintenance Operations Squadron airman has received a 10-month prison sentence and a reduction in rank to E-1 after pleading guilty to writing bad checks in excess of $7,700.

According to the 374th Airlift Wing’s staff judge advocate, Airman Joshua Spivey admitted during an Oct. 28 court-martial to bouncing 52 checks in less than four months. He repaid just $450 of the $7,700 in charges, officials said.

During his plea and sentencing, Spivey admitted he knew the checks would not clear the bank because his checking account contained $5, according to the staff judge advocate. In a month, the airman said, he floated 49 checks worth more than $7,400.

Spivey admitted he used the money to purchase clothes, DVDs, videos, compact discs and a television, according to court documents.

A few months later, the airman said he opened a second account at a different bank and wrote three checks to buy additional clothes and a haircut, the staff judge advocate said. When Spivey learned that the checks had bounced, he closed the accounts and ignored repeated requests by creditors for payment.

After Spivey pleaded guilty to all charges, a jury made up of officers and enlisted servicemembers handed down the grade reduction and military confinement.

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