A St. Croix National Park Superintendent has pleaded guilty to misuse of government funds, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Friday.
Gregory Camacho, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of converting property of another and two counts of embezzlement of public funds, according to the press release.
According to court documents, the National Park Service maintains housing
units on St. Croix that are available for rent by park service employees. Camacho,
an employee of the National Park Service, failed to pay rent for June 2019 through
January 2020 on one unit, and further failed to pay rent for a second unit from
February 2020 through June 2020. As a result, the National Park Service incurred a
loss in the amount of $14,192.10. In July 2019, Camacho relocated from Florida to
St. Croix, VI, and falsely claimed that his family had relocated with him. Based on
his misrepresentation, Camacho received $13,387.50 in relocation reimbursement.
On four occasions between October 2018 and September 2019, Camacho falsely
submitted overlapping travel vouchers totaling $1,922.50. As a result, Camacho
received an additional $1,922.50 in travel reimbursements.
On each count, Camacho faces a maximum of one year imprisonment, not more than five years of probation, and supervised release of not more than one year. As part of his plea agreement, Camacho also agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by the court, the release stated.
This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel H. Huston.
