By Steve Neavling
A former FBI agent who used government money to gamble at a Las Vegas casino following an undercover operation was sentenced Wednesday to three months in custody.
Scott F. Carpenter, 40, faces jail or home confinement after pleading guilty in February to a count of conversion of government money.
When Carpenter self-surrenders on Nov. 18, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro will decide if the former agent will spend his sentence in jail or home confinement, the Associated Press reports.
According to prosecutors, Carpenter, who worked out of the bureau’s New York Field Office, was in Las Vegas with three other FBI agents to conduct an undercover operation in July 2017. Following the operation, Carpenter used $13,500 in government money to play blackjack in a high-limit room.
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
A federal prosecutor recommended probation, saying Carpenter self-reported the incident and began paying back the money.
Navarro rejected the recommendation, saying lawbreaking by federal officers “undermines the community’s trust in law enforcement.”
