A couple took 31 trips to Orlando and vacationed at Walt Disney World using government funds, prosecutors say

07.10.2024 - 03:29 / insider.com / Justice Department

An Army contractor and his girlfriend used government funds to finance personal vacations across the country, including 31 trips to Orlando, federal prosecutors say.

A federal judge sentenced Chantelle Boyd, 53, on October 2 to six months of home confinement and two years of supervised release. Her sentencing came four years after police arrested her and her partner, 61-year-old Thomas Bouchard, in 2020.

Both were sentenced for "conspiring to defraud the government of thousands of dollars" between 2014 and 2018," according to the Justice Department.

Boyd will be required to pay restitution, but the amount will be determined on a separate date. A judge sentenced Bouchard in August to 12 months and one day in prison, then one year of supervised release. The judge ordered Bouchard to pay $487,658.87 in restitution.

Bouchard oversaw the US Army Natick Contracting Division in Massachusetts, a contracting service for the Defense Department. He used his connections to get Boyd hired for a "no-show job" as an assistant, prosecutors said.

"Bouchard and Boyd took numerous government-funded trips, ranging in duration from two to 15 days, under the guise that they were work related," the Justice Department said.

Their government-funded excursions included 31 trips to Orlando, during which Boyd "performed little if any work." Boyd's position cost the Defense Department nearly $500,000, prosecutors said.

"For many of the trips, Bouchard and Boyd stayed in the same hotel room and spent time at the pool and Disney parks — all during business hours," federal prosecutors said.

The indictment said Boyd also traveled to Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, and Clearwater, Florida.

Representatives for the Boyd, Bouchard, the US Army Natick Contracting Division, and the US Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The Defense Department referred Business Insider to the US Army.