WHITELAND — A former federal investigator from Whiteland has been sentenced for fabricating dozens of background checks for a U.S. defense agency.
Christopher B. Laughlin, 37, has been sentenced to one year of federal probation and must pay restitution in the amount of $69,846.44 after pleading guilty to making false statements in the course of his government employment. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young on May 15, and was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana on Thursday.
Federal employees, contractors and military members must undergo a background investigation to determine their suitability for serving in a position of trust and obtaining any required security clearance. The extent of the investigation will depend on the type of job and the degree of harm the person in that job could cause. Background investigators conduct interviews, review documents and record the information they find in reports of investigation. Federal agencies rely on these reports to determine the suitability of subjects for sensitive positions and security clearance, according to a news release.
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is responsible for conducting background investigations of certain individuals who are either employed by or seeking employment with federal agencies or government contractors. DCSA utilizes a variety of internal controls to verify the work of investigators and help ensure the integrity of its investigations, federal prosecutors say.
Laughlin began working at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as a federal background investigator in May 2018. His position was transferred to DCSA on Sept. 30, 2019, and he worked out of the agency’s Indianapolis office, according to court documents.
On Aug. 2, 2021, as part of DCSA’s internal control process, an individual reported that Laughlin never interviewed them, contrary to Laughlin’s statements in an investigation report. DCSA investigated and identified three other sources Laughlin claimed to have interviewed in the same investigation who all stated they’d never been interviewed. DCSA’s Office of the Inspector General then initiated a formal investigation into Laughlin’s conduct, court documents say.
Investigators determined that between Feb. 18 and Sept. 1, 2021, Laughlin submitted at least 22 false reports containing fabricated statements from at least 43 interviews that never actually happened. The reports included statements that the sources purportedly made to Laughlin by people he never spoke with. DCSA spent $69.846.214 in payroll and travel to conduct the investigations that Laughlin fabricated, according to court documents.
“The safety and security of our country depends on the trustworthiness and integrity of federal employees and contractors,” Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana said in a news release. “This defendant’s decision to falsify reports and fabricate statements compromised the integrity of these important investigations and increased the risk that unsuitable individuals are put in positions that could compromise our government and our national security. I commend DCSA OIG, DCIS, and our federal prosecutor for their commitment to protect the public and hold officials accountable for criminal violations of their oaths to serve and protect the public.”
The DCSA, Office of Inspector General and Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated the case.
“Compromising the integrity of the security clearance process puts our country’s most sensitive information at unnecessary risk,” Darrin K. Jones, special agent-in-charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office, said in a news release. “DCIS, along with our investigative partners, will continue to aggressively pursue bad actors whose actions threaten to undermine the public’s trust.”
