A former CIA agent has been sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay back the $107,000 he charged on credit cards he stole from the agency.
Steven J. Levan spent 16 years working his way up from field agent to instructor, a position that permitted him access to secure vaults where the credit cards he stole were kept, court documents filed in Alexandria’s federal court said.
His career is now over, and he’ll spend two years on supervised release after serving the sentence handed down Thursday. On top of the $107,000, Levan also has been ordered to pay back $8,244 to a Residence Inn in Vienna.
Levan started living in Northern Virginia hotels after his marriage ended in divorce, documents said. Among the charges on the stolen credit cards was $7,446 for a hotel in McLean.
According to documents filed by Levan’s attorney, Geremy C. Kamens, Levan “experienced traumatic events that contributed to his” stealing the credit cards. Kamens did not describe the trauma, but submitted the details as part of a classified report.
“The purchases of extravagant personal items and hotel charges made on the stolen credit cards reflect a profound lack of insight,” Kamens wrote. “[Levan] was unable to appreciate the enormous and destructive consequences that would surely result from his theft of credit cards.”
Kamens did write that the lengthy time Levan spent oversees as a CIA agent “undoubtedly contributed to the estrangement that now exists between Mr. Levan and his wife.”
Kamens argued that Levan should spend six months in prison — six months less than the minimum prosecutors wanted — because he did not abuse his authority when he stole the credit cards.
But according to a sworn statement by a CIA inspector general, Levan had access to the cards only because of his security clearance. Levan was among only 40 people who had access to a “restricted vault” in an undisclosed CIA building.
He stole two credit cards from the vault on May 13, 2008, the inspector wrote. According to Kamens’ documents, the cards were taken off a secretary’s desk.
Since his January arrest, Levan has worked with the CIA to help them prevent others from committing crimes similar to his in the future, Kamens wrote.
Levan pleaded guilty to the charges Feb. 5.
