YORKTOWN, Va. - A Colonial National Historical Park employee pleaded guilty to theft of government property and wire fraud in federal court.
Federal documents state that Jeffrey Gaddis worked for the Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown. He was the automotive mechanic and fleet manager for the park.
Records state that each of the 120 park-owned vehicles had a credit card that was supposed to be used for official purposes only.
They state park employees are required to fill up the gas tanks with pumps located in the park.
Documents indicate that another employee at the park noticed irregularities on some of the credit cards statements, including abnormal purchases at Lowes and Home Depot.
There were also irregularities with a purchase of about $540 for truck tires from a Pep Boys store in Newport News.
Record showed that the credit cards were used to buy fuel in the local area, showing a pattern occurring in Gloucester County before 6 a.m. and after 2:30 a.m., which is unusual because employees at the park who use the vehicles were supposed to obtain fuel from the gas pumps within the park, according to the documents.
An employee notified the supervisor, and the investigation began.
The Office of the Inspector General and the Investigative Services Branch of the National Park Service were contacted, and they opened an investigation.
Investigators found that between 2016 and 2018, there were improper charges on 40 different credit cards for purchases that included fuel, as well as vehicle parts that did not match the vehicle to which the card was issued, totaling more than $8,000.
When confronted, records say Gaddis said he was using the credit cards for fuel so that he could get to and from work and had gotten behind on his bills.
They state he allegedly admitted to using one of the credit cards to buy new tires for his truck.
He pleaded guilty and is expected to be sentenced in June.
News 3 reached out to his attorney and the park but have not heard back.
Attempts to reach Gaddis were not successful.
