COLUMBUS, Ohio – A California man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus today to three months in prison for committing crimes related to supplying the military with faulty parts.
Timothy W. Foley, 72, was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.3 million.
According to court documents, Foley was the operator and co-owner of Parts Source International Inc. in Goleta, California. Parts Source was a Department of Defense contractor who sold and supplied a variety of military parts to the DoD for use on military weapons systems, and some of which were critical application items, and invoiced the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Columbus, Ohio, for payment.
Foley admitted that from 2012 through 2019, he conspired to supply non-conforming parts to the DoD. Foley submitted 131 quotes for purchase orders that stated he would provide the exact product as required by the government. Rather, as testing and documents revealed, Foley provided unapproved substitutions in fraudulent packaging rendering them unacceptable for use by the military.
Parts Source received a total of approximately $1.36 million in payments for the parts. Foley pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to money laundering.
Foley’s co-defendant, Jimmy Daryl Thomas, 52, of White House, Tennessee, was sentenced in May 2023 to two months in prison and three years of supervised release for participating in the wire fraud conspiracy. Thomas assisted Foley in procuring cheaper, non-conforming parts on at least 29 contracts. He also helped provide false packaging and invoices. As part of his sentence, Thomas was ordered to pay more than $219,000 in restitution.
“Behavior such as this, from individuals putting profit over the safety of the dedicated men and women in our military, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “When we find individuals supplying fraudulent items to the U.S. military, we will address these illegal acts as the serious crimes they are.”
“Protecting the integrity of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain is a priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the DoD Office of Inspector General,” said Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Northeast Field Office. “The introduction of defective parts into the DoD supply chain endangers the lives of American service members and threatens our military readiness. The DCIS is committed to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, the Defense Logistics Agency, and our law enforcement partners to ensure that individuals who engage in fraudulent activity, at the expense of the U.S. military, are investigated and prosecuted.”
U.S. Attorney Parker and Special Agent in Charge Hegarty were joined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), in announcing the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica W. Knight and Special Assistant United States Attorney J. Michael Marous are representing the United States in this case.
