INDIANAPOLIS — A Whiteland man who worked for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is guilty of fabricating dozens of background check interviews — costing the U.S. government nearly $70,000 while never conducting the required checks.
According to the United States Department of Justice, 37-year-old Christopher B. Laughlin was an employee for the federal government since 2018 where he worked under the DCSA as a federal background investigator.
Laughlin's responsibilities included conducting interviews and background checks on federal employees, contractors and military members due to the potential of the subjects working with sensitive information and needing security clearance.
In August 2021, an individual reported to the DCSA that Laughlin never interviewed them despite statements made by Laughlin in reports that said the opposite. As investigators began to look further, more individuals began to tell investigators that Laughlin never conducted interviews with them despite what reports said.
All in all, the DOJ said investigators uncovered that between Feb. 18 and Sept. 1, 2021, Laughlin submitted at least 22 false reports that contained fabricated statements from at least 43 interviews that investigators said never actually happened.
“The safety and security of our country depends on the trustworthiness and integrity of federal employees and contractors,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “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."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation, the DCSA spent $69,846.44 in payroll and travel to conduct these supposed interviews that Laughlin is accused of never actually conducting.
After pleading guilty to making false statements in the course of his government employment, Laughlin was sentenced to one year of federal probation and ordered to pay back the nearly $70,000.