A former White House switchboard supervisor pleaded guilty Tuesday to one federal felony count of embezzling taxpayer funds by manipulating an employee’s time sheets.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, Turk agreed to forfeit $5,015 and pay an amount to be determined in restitution. She also could be sentenced to up to six months incarceration and fined up to $20,000 when she appears for sentencing April 20 before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in the District. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
“From June 2, 2012, to July 27, 2013, you used your supervisor’s position to change the time and attendance record for employee A. . . . Is that correct?” Kessler asked Turk during a 45-minute plea hearing.
“In gist, it is,” Turk said.
Turk, 46, was director of switchboard operations at the White House, supervising 15 people, from 2009 until she was fired in August 2013.
Her duties at the White House included overseeing employee work schedules and approving overtime, Turk acknowledged in a court filing.
The thefts began in early 2012, according to an FBI affidavit, when Turk allegedly called an employee into her office for a private meeting. Turk told the employee that she was having financial troubles.
She had bills to pay, according to the affidavit, and told the employee, “I’m going to need your help.” In court, Turk denied entering into any premeditated scheme but admitted, “The end result was the same.”
In a statement Turk signed with prosecutors, she said she altered the time sheets of the employee to reflect hours the employee had not worked and collected a portion of the unearned overtime pay.
The statement said the employee was paid about $12,475 for 396 overtime hours but had worked only about 50 of those hours, receiving about $10,900 to which she was not entitled. The employee paid about $5,015 to Turk, mostly through bank transfers.
The case was referred to the FBI by the Office of Counsel to the President. Turk was fired after the misconduct was discovered.
In an interview with the FBI, Turk allegedly told investigators that she had borrowed money from her colleague.
When she was unable to repay the loan, according to the affidavit, she changed the employee’s time sheets to include overtime hours the employee had not worked.
