Derrick Branch, a former Army sergeant, pleaded guilty Aug. 15, 2023, to stealing $15,000 by claiming reimbursement for performing military honors ceremonies at funerals that never happened, the Justice Department said Wednesday, Aug. 23. (File)
A former Army sergeant who took part in a scheme that billed the Pentagon for military honor duties at funerals that never happened faces up to five years in prison, the Justice Department said in a statement this week.
Derrick Branch, who served in the Army Reserve, pleaded guilty Aug. 15 to a charge of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, according to the Wednesday statement. Two other defendants in the conspiracy pleaded guilty earlier this year.
The seven participants identified as part of the scheme bilked slightly more than $100,000 in payments, according to a 2021 indictment.
Branch was accused of unlawfully obtaining over $15,000 between 2013 and 2016, the Justice Department said. At the time, he was serving at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans.
Branch joined the scheme with Christopher O’Connor, an Army Reserve staff sergeant who was responsible for processing pay requests, court documents said. The case against O’Connor is ongoing.
Under their arrangement, O’Connor submitted fraudulent reimbursement requests for military honor duties on Branch’s behalf, and each received a portion of the payments, according to authorities.
The reimbursement requests were submitted without approval from either person’s supervisors and without signed forms stating who performed at which funeral, or records indicating that the event actually happened, prosecutors said.
Military funeral honors encompass ceremonial acts like the folding and presentation of the U.S. flag and the playing of taps, carried out by a detail consisting of at least two uniformed service members.
Branch agreed to pay $15,469 in restitution, the Justice Department statement said. He is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 30.
The two defendants sentenced previously also were Army reservists stationed at the New Orleans base.
Chantelle Davis, a former specialist, and Lynea Sanders, a former staff sergeant, entered pleas on similar charges in March and were both sentenced in June.
Davis’ cut of the proceeds totaled about $8,400, while Sanders received approximately $21,800, according to court records.
