A federal grand jury has indicted a Pentagon police officer on charges that she falsified employment and medical documents as part of an insurance scam.
Teika Cooke, a police officer with the Deparlatment of Defense Pentagon Force Protection Agency, faces a maximum of 40 years on charges of wire and health care fraud, according to federal sentencing guidelines. Her attorney did not return a message left at his office Monday.
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Cooke, who has been with the department since 2005, has been placed on administrative leave, said Chris Layman of the PFPA.
“This is an ongoing investigation of the FBI and the Department of Defense Inspector General’s Office, and we are supporting their investigation and cannot comment on the details,” Layman said. Layman said he did not know whether any other employees had been placed on administrative leave in connection with the insurance scam investigation.
According to the 10-page indictment filed in U.S. District Court last week and made public Monday, Cooke filed several claims with the AFLAC insurance company claiming she received a dock in pay because she was unable to work full time because of various injuries, including falling off of a mechanical bull.
The scheme lasted from February 2003 to September 2009, and Cooke received four checks from AFLAC totaling $27,550, according to the charging document.
Prosecutors said Cooke missed no more than a few days of work during that period and received her full salary and benefits.
As part of the scheme, prosecutors said Cooke faxed bogus employment documents and doctor’s statements to AFLAC offices from her place of work, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The signature of a sergeant had been forged, prosecutors said.
