By Alexa Epitropoulos | aepitropoulos@alextimes.com
The suspect in a highly publicized theft of more than $200,000 from the Alexandria Fire Department has been sentenced.
Monique Jackson Asante, a 49-year-old resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced
in the fraud case on June 29, the office of the commonwealth’s attorney announced in a news release.
Jackson Asante received one year in prison, with 14 years suspended if certain terms are met, including 10 years of good behavior, three years of supervised probation and a $219,000 payment in restitution. Jackson Asante previously pleaded guilty to a felony count of money laundering on August 18, 2016.
Jackson Asante, while a fire department employee for the City of Alexandria, processed invoices that claimed her co-conspirators – Corey King, Jamarr Martin, Isaac Pardie, James Little and Shantell Sims – were providing materials and services to the department. The city issued checks to the co-conspirators, which were, in turn,
split with Jackson Asante. The co-conspirators obtained more than $200,000 in fraudulent checks between 2010 and 2016.
After six years, one of Jackson Asante’s co-conspirators contacted the fire department to report that she was submitting false invoices for friends and family members. The fire department, at that point, reviewed the checks and found the names of her co-conspirators.
After the fire department’s revelation, Jackson Asante provided information about the
scheme to investigators and cooperated in the investigation against her co-conspirators.
The five co-conspirators were convicted and received felony counts. King pleaded guilty to four felony counts of grand larceny by false pretense and one felony count of conspiracy to commit grand larceny.
He was sentenced to five years, with all but 18 months suspended on the conditions of good behavior, three years of supervised probation and the payment of $74,000 in restitution.
Martin pleaded guilty to one felony count of grand larceny by false pretense and one felony count of conspiracy. He received a sentence of three years, with all but 30 days suspended on the condition of good behavior, two years of supervised probation and a $3,400 restitution payment.
Pardie was found guilty by a jury and charged with one felony count of grand larceny by false pretense and one felony count of conspiracy. The jury recommended a sentence of a $201 fine and Pardie was ordered to pay $4,400 in restitution.
Little pleaded guilty to five felony counts of grand larceny by false pretense and one felony count of conspiracy to commit grand larceny. Sims pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit grand larceny. Little and Sims have yet to be sentenced, with Little scheduled for a July 20 sentencing and Sims scheduled for an Aug. 10 sentencing.
Jackson Asante and King are serving their sentence at the William G. Truesdale Alexandria Adult Detention Center.
“A complex criminal scheme to steal significant amounts of money is a serious crime. It is exponentially more serious when an employee steals from her employer, and made worse yet again when the theft is committed by a public employee,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter said in a release. “In effect, the co-conspirators in this case stole from Alexandria taxpayers.”
