According to prosecutors, a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the Naples Airport in Florida entered a guilty plea to stealing around $19,000 in cash from arriving foreign travelers.
This week, William Timothy, 43, of Ave Maria, Florida, was informed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida that he might now spend up to ten years in federal prison.
“According to the plea agreement, between mid-2023 and early-2024, Timothy stole approximately $18,700 in cash from airline passengers during 17 incidents of theft uncovered by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigators,” the Office stated.
“Evidence collected during the investigation showed that Timothy was surreptitiously stealing cash from arriving international passengers during border enforcement examinations and currency verifications performed as part of his official duties as an assigned CBP Officer at Naples Airport,” they continued.
As per the plea deal, according to the prosecution, “Timothy has agreed to pay full restitution to the victims of his thefts, and he has further agreed to immediately resign from his employment with CBP.”
There isn’t a scheduled sentencing hearing yet.
Timothy performed a “border enforcement examination and currency verification” of a “international airline passenger who traveled on a private aircraft from the Bahamas” that arrived at Naples Airport in May 2023, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
According to the lawsuit, the passenger later discovered that about $2,200 was missing from the cash he had given to Timothy during the transaction.
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Investigators studied security footage that, according to the complaint, showed Timothy setting “three stacks of bills aside, which he did not return” to the passenger.
“After setting aside approximately 22 bills — which are all believed to be $100 bills — Timothy also appears to place Customs Declarations forms on top of the currency, in what is believed to be an effort to conceal the cash he took from Passenger #1,” according to the lawsuit. “After Passenger #1 departs, Timothy can be seen retrieving the Customs Declaration forms — and the cash concealed underneath — and walking away from the camera.”
“To date, Timothy has filed no report or documentation which would serve to justify any seizure of cash” from that passenger, according to the criminal complaint, which was submitted in January of this year.
