A Lakewood man who worked for the federal government has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for stealing roughly $1 million from his employer.
James Montoya, 55, was sentenced Tuesday to 41 months behind bars and ordered to repay $1,122,009.47. Montoya had worked for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since 1996 and served as an IT specialist starting in 2002.
Court documents show that beginning in 2003, Montoya began falsifying expense reports to divert money into personal PayPal accounts. The scheme went unnoticed for 15 years until 2023, when a review of employee accounts by the Department of the Interior flagged irregularities.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, Montoya submitted altered receipts, fake invoices, and other documentation claiming the purchases were for IT-related items or services. In reality, he bought personal items including collectible toys and car parts, such as leather electric seats for his pickup truck and replica Disneyland Tokyo toys.
Montoya directed over $1 million into three PayPal accounts he had falsely presented as vendors to the USGS. He disputed the total amount, claiming it was closer to $922,000. Additionally, more than $120,000 was falsely attributed to legitimate USGS vendors through fake invoices.
A federal grand jury indicted Montoya in August 2024 on eight counts of wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to a single count in March this year. Prosecutors described the scheme as ongoing and methodical, noting that Montoya stole nearly every month over the course of the scheme.
Montoya must report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons by January 12, 2026, to begin serving his sentence.
Only three years