Philadelphia Man Charged With False Statements And Theft

PHILADELPHIA - Benjamin Twiggs, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment yesterday with one count of making a false statement and one count of transportation of goods taken by fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  The fraud is in connection with the federal Computers For Learning (CFL) program, a program meant to allow federal agencies to donate excess computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations.

According to the indictment, in October 2013, Twiggs used a false document to state to the Department of Homeland Security that his organization was an IRS-recognized tax-exempt organization, when Twiggs knew that it was not.  The indictment charges further that in January 2015, Twiggs transported in interstate commerce 96 computer monitors that he had taken by fraud from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which had donated them through the CFL program.

If convicted of the charges, the defendant faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $500,000, a $200 special assessment, and forfeiture.

The case was investigated by the General Services Administration's Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.

An Indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.