$6 million DOD Fraud, $1 million paid in illegal gratuities, 5 charged with tax violations

PITTSBURGH – Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today that five Informations have been filed in federal court in Pittsburgh charging three local residents and two residents of the greater Detroit area with crimes ofmajor fraud against the U.S. Department of Defense, tax violations and illegal gratuities.

Thomas G. Buckner, 65, of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and his brother, John P. Buckner, 67, of Lyndora, Pennsylvania, were each named in three count Informations charging them in one count with defrauding U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), and two counts of income tax evasion.

According to the Informations filed with the court, the Buckner brothers were 50/50 owners of Ibis Tek, LLC (hereinafter Ibis Tek). Ibis Tek’s main office was located at 912 Pittsburgh Street, Butler, Pennsylvania 16002, and it had an office at Ibis Tek Victory Road facility, 220 South Noah Drive, Saxonburg, PA 16056. Ibis Tek manufactured both military and commercial products but specialized in the development of transparent armor and accessory products for tactical and military combat vehicles. Ibis Tek itself was not charged with any violations.

TACOM, located in Warren, Michigan, was responsible for letting and overseeing contracts on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, including contracts concerning High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (hereinafter Humvees). Ibis Tek had a subcontract to produce Vehicle Emergency Escape Window (VEE Window) Kits for Humvees. The Buckners inflated Ibis Tek’s costs to manufacture the VEE Window kits by creating Alloy America, LLC, (Alloy) a company that the Buckners controlled, by using Alloy to purchase the frames in China for $20 per frame, and by using false invoices from Alloy to make it appear that Ibis Tek paid $70 per frame. In addition, the Buckners sold scrap aluminum collected in the manufacturing process but failed to credit that money to TACOM. The losses to TACOM were $6,085,709.

Both Buckner brothers were charged with income tax evasion for 2009 and 2010 for not reporting the cash from sales of scrap aluminum, and for taking unallowable business deductions described below.

Harry H. Kramer, 52, of Wexford, Pennsylvania, was named in a three count Information charging him in Count One for his role as CFO of Ibis Tek in the above described major fraud against TACOM. Counts Two and Three charge him with filing false returns for Ibis Tek for 2009 and 2010.

David S. Buckner, of Warren, Michigan, (no relation to Thomas or John Buckner) was named in a one count information charging him with impeding the IRS by acting as a financial intermediary who received and then paid out money to Anthony Shaw, for the purpose of concealing that the monies were income of Shaw, concealing the true source of the monies, and concealing the purpose for the monies. David Buckner owned D & B Cycle Parts and Accessories.

Anthony A. Shaw, 55, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, was named in a five count Information. Shaw, then a civilian employee at TACOM, was a Deputy Project Manager responsible for directing development of and managing government contracts for combat vehicle systems such as Humvees. Shaw is charged in Counts One and Two with demanding and receiving a total of $1,055,500 of illegal gratuities paid by checks and wire transfers by Thomas Buckner to and through D & B Cycle Parts and Accessories for Shaw. Counts Three and Four charge Shaw with income tax evasion for 2009 and 2010 for not reporting payments from Thomas and John Buckner totaling in excess of $1,000,000. In Count Five Shaw is charged with making false statements when he denied that he had socialized with Thomas Buckner and John Buckner, and denied that he had traveled in a car, boat and an airplane owned by Thomas Buckner or John Buckner.

For Thomas and John Buckner, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,500,000, or both. For Kramer, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 16 years in prison, a fine of $1,500,000, or both. For David Buckner, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 3 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. For Shaw, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 19 years in prison, a fine of $1,250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

Special Agents of the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigation Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case.

A criminal Information is an accusation.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The filing of an Information generally indicates that the defendant intends to enter a guilty plea.