ST. LOUIS — A former St. Louis police officer pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Monday after he lied about hours worked as a private security guard for a taxpayer-funded security district.
According to a press release from State's Attorney Sayler Flemming, Brad Stephens pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud for defrauding the Tower Grove South Concerned Citizen Special Business District out of approximately $50,000 by lying on timecards.
Stephens, who had been a police officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department since 2014, agreed to work shifts as a security officer through City Wide Security. The press release said Stephens was assigned to work shifts patrolling the Tower Grove South area during off-duty hours starting in 2015.
According to the press release, Stephens lied about hours and days worked. In 2018, he falsely said he worked 93 days, and in 2019, he said he worked 76 days that he did not. City Wide Security was paid about $50,000 from the Tower Grove South Concerned Citizen Special Business District, a taxpayer-funded entity.
Stephens entered a guilty plea Monday before United States District Judge Sarah Pitlyk. He will be sentenced on March 11, 2022.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
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