A Department of Veterans Affairs employee who remodeled her home using taxpayer dollars was sentenced to four years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of theft in federal court.
Venita Godfrey-Scott of New Haven, Conn., was a supervisor in the facilities management department of the VA’s medical center in West Haven, making her responsible for minor construction and repair projects at the facility, according to the VA inspector general’s office, which circulated an announcement of her sentencing Monday.
From 2010 until 2013, Scott directed her VA subordinates on a variety of home-improvement projects around her private residence.
They built a deck in her back yard, installed carpets and made various upgrades to the kitchen, bathroom and basement, according to the charges.
When she needed supplies, tools or transportation, she pilfered them from VA. If something had to be purchased from the local lumber yard, Scott had her employees use their government-issued credit cards.
Sometimes Scott’s subordinates were directed to work on her personal home-improvement projects during their regular duty hours, while they were being paid by the government. The total tab of the remodeling, at least to taxpayers, was between $15,000 and $20,000.
Scott pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property in May.
In addition to probation, Scott was ordered to spend six months in home confinement with electronic monitoring, perform 120 hours of community service and pay $15,000 in restitution.
