Numerous federal employees may have been given key government positions without background checks, and prosecutors are blaming a contractor they say scammed the government by pocketing a fee without doing the work.
George Abraham is charged with lying to federal authorities when he claimed that he checked on numerous federal employees in various agencies. He’s on trial in federal court this week.
The case could have significant implications for national security, prosecutors said in court. Abraham was paid by two different government contractors to conduct background interviews on candidates who were slated to get top-secret security clearance in the military and investigative agencies.
Instead, authorities allege, Abraham blew off the interviews or cut them short and told the agencies he had cleared the employees.
He was indicted earlier this year after government officials, conducting routine follow-up on contractors’ background checks, called one of Abraham’s supposed interviewees. The man told officials that he’d never spoken to Abraham.
Dressed in a well-fitted gray suit, Abraham took the stand in his own defense Thursday. He told jurors that in fact he hadn’t conducted the background interviews, but said he didn’t break any laws. He said his wife conducted at least one of the interviews and if he ended some of the others prematurely, it was because he had faced prior complaints that he was taking too long.
He was subject to a withering cross-examination from prosecutor Elleen Epstein, who challenged his recollection of events and pointed out that he was suspended — and then ultimately fired — by one of the government contractors over the background checks.
Abraham remained calm and his voice was even as he answered Epstein’s questions, but his face stiffened as she asked him about his firing.
The trial will continue Monday.
