FBI arrests ex-Las Vegas Valley Water District employee in thefts

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Published Thursday, July 28, 2016 | 2:12 p.m.

Updated Thursday, July 28, 2016 | 9:33 p.m.

The FBI arrested a former Las Vegas Valley Water District employee accused of stealing millions of dollars in funds from the utility to buy ink cartridges and resell them, a utility spokesman said Thursday.

Jennifer “JJ” McCain-Bray was indicted on six mail fraud charges by a grand jury in federal court Thursday and pleaded not guilty, U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Natalie Collins said. She was freed on her own recognizance pending trial.

McCain-Bray is believed to have made over $6.7 million in unauthorized purchases from office supply vendor Staples from at least Jan. 1, 2007, to Dec. 7, 2015, according to court records. She made $4.5 million in purchases from 2012 to 2015.

Another employee tipped off the utility company late last year and McCain-Bray resigned soon after an internal investigation was launched, utility spokesman Bronson Mack said.

The investigation determined that McCain-Bray was involved with a “network of individuals” from a New Jersey company, who reportedly received the purchases and would give her a cut of the sale.

The scheme involved buying ink and toner cartilages from Staples and having them shipped to the utility’s headquarters, court records show. McCain-Bray would re-label the packages and ship them to the New Jersey company in exchange for money, property and “other things of value.”

At least one person in New Jersey would deposit the funds in McCain-Bray’s PayPal account, records show.

McCain-Bray was hired at the utility in 2001 as a purchasing assistant and promoted to purchasing analyst on October 2007, where she was responsible for making orders and paying vendors for products, such as Staples, records show.

She deceived the company’s control procedures that were in place to prevent unauthorized sales, by falsifying information and codes, Mack said.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District issued the following statement:

“This morning we were informed that an arrest has been made by the FBI in the case involving fraudulent purchases made through the Las Vegas Valley Water District’s Staples purchasing account. At this time, we do not have all of the details related to the specific charges leveled against the former LVVWD employee by the FBI. We continue to cooperate with the FBI in this matter and provide them full and complete access to all information in our possession that might relate to this case. We also are continuing to pursue recovery of assets lost as a result of these fraudulent purchases. We sincerely believe that this recent action by the FBI is a step forward in that effort.”