Baltimore City Wire

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Jacky Lynn McComber, of Elkridge, Maryland, to thirteen months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $176,913 in restitution for submitting false invoices to the National Security Agency (NSA) for overstating her hours worked on a contract and for making false statements to investigators from the NSA’s Office of the Inspector General (NSA-OIG).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Kevin Garrity, Deputy Inspector General for NSA’s Office of Inspector General; and Robert P. Storch, Inspector General of the Department of Defense.

According to evidence presented at her four-week jury trial, McComber was the Chief Executive Officer of an information technology company that had contracts with the NSA. Because these contracts involved classified information, most work had to be performed at a secure location with significant limitations on off-site work. Testimony revealed that during approximately 19 months, McComber billed for supposed work physically at the NSA when about 90% of this work was not done there. Evidence also showed that McComber did not always work the hours recorded on her timesheets; she billed full days while participating in charity events, attending reunions, or being on vacation.

Trial testimony further detailed that McComber participated in a voluntary interview with NSA-OIG investigators following information received from a whistleblower indicating she was billing the government for hours not actually worked.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the NSA-OIG and DOD Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service for their efforts in this investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray and Department of Justice Fraud Section Trial Attorney Peter L. Cooch for prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.