CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A former vice president at Fairmont State University will be sentenced later this year for using a state-issued purchasing card to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Fairmont State for his personal use.
David Tamm, 45, of Parkersburg, plead guilty to embezzlement and filing a false tax return in Clarksburg Federal Court on Wednesday morning.
“It’s alleged that he purchased hundreds of computer switches with a state purchasing card and then sold them for cash,” said Bill Ihlenfeld, the U.S. Attorney for West Virginia’s Northern District.
Tamm, Fairmont State’s former chief information officer, admitted that, from Oct. 2007 until Jan. 2013, he stole money from Fairmont State and, in 2012, filed a false tax return by underreporting his salary.
“He used that money to buy a beautiful home in Bridgeport, to buy luxury automobiles and to buy expensive jewelry for his wife,” said Ihlenfeld.
“We also believe that he used the p-card to buy high end electronics for his personal use and to have projectors and screens and high end televisions installed in his home, all at taxpayers’ expense.”
In all, investigators claimed Tamm bought more than 300 computer switches from a Kentucky electronics company. When the switches were sold, Ihlenfeld estimated Tamm made $650,000 from the scheme.
“We have someone who was a state agent who was abusing that position in order to live a lifestyle that otherwise was unobtainable on his salary,” said Ihlenfeld on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
A sentencing date for Tamm was not immediately available. He was free Wednesday on bond pending sentencing. Tamm faces up to ten years in prison on the embezzlement charge and a possible three years in prison on the tax charge.