FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Gambling With Government Money After Operation

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An agent with the FBI has pleaded guilty to using government money to gamble following an undercover operation in Las Vegas.

The Department of Justice in Nevada announced on Wednesday that 40-year-old Scott F. Carpenter, a special agent with the FBI, "pleaded guilty to one count of conversion of government money."

According to a press release from the Department of Justice in Nevada, while Carpenter was employed as an FBI special agent for the bureau's New York City Field Office, he was sent to Las Vegas to conduct an undercover operation from July 27 to July 31, 2017. Three other federal agents were also sent with Carpenter, the press release said. Following the conclusion of the undercover operation, Carpenter traveled to a high-limit room at a Las Vegas casino and "gambled on blackjack with $13,500 belonging to the United States," the press release said.

Officials did not identify the name of the casino where the gambling occurred.

Carpenter's sentencing is scheduled for May 18, in front of U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro.

"At sentencing, Carpenter faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison, supervised release, and restitution," the press release said.

According to court documents reviewed by Newsweek, Carpenter's lawyers and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada jointly recommended that the court impose a sentence of probation for Carpenter ahead of his guilty plea.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, Carpenter's lawyer, Paul Fishman said, "Four years ago, Scott made a terrible mistake. He immediately acknowledged his conduct, reported it to his superiors, sought professional help for his alcohol problem, and made arrangements to repay the FBI. The government's recommendation of probation reflects Scott's full acceptance of responsibility and his otherwise exemplary service with the FBI and the United States Army."

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment after Newsweek reached out.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess, who is prosecuting the case, had no further comment after Newsweek reached out.

In July 2021, a somewhat similar situation happened, when a former police officer with the Chicago Police Department was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his connection to an illegal sports gambling ring.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said that 43-year-old Nicholas Stella acted above the law.

"It's not just harmful to our sense of security within the city, but it's harmful to all those good officers out there who are trying to do their jobs with integrity," Kendall said to Stella, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In 2020, a former special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Jose Ismael Irizarry, pleaded guilty to a scheme that diverted $9 million "in drug proceeds from undercover money laundering investigations into bank accounts that they and co-conspirators controlled," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release at the time.