Christopher O’Connor, a former Army pay technician and staff sergeant, has been sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and payment of $98,691 in restitution. This sentence, from the New Orleans federal court, ends a lengthy legal saga involving the theft of government funds for falsified military funeral honors ceremonies. In a Department of Justice press release, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced the decision by U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown. The agency stated that O’Connor was sentenced for “submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests for military funeral honors that he and six other Army reservists allegedly performed, but had not.” Considering the nature of the case, it was prosecuted by the Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon. According to Stars and Stripes, O’Connor submitted multiple fraudulent claims between 2013 and 2016. Prosecutors alleged that O’Connor, while serving with the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, proposed a scheme where he would submit false reimbursement requests for military funeral honors on behalf of six other soldiers. In exchange, he reportedly received a portion of the proceeds from the others. A coordinated scheme The outlet noted that military funeral honors are a solemn service provided to active-duty members, retirees, and veterans, which includes the presentation of an American flag and the playing of taps. It is a vital part of honoring a service member’s legacy, but in this instance, the system was manipulated for personal gain. A former Army pay technician who submitted more than $100,000 in false claims for military funeral honors ceremonies that never happened was ordered to perform community service and repay the government.https://t.co/zp3xnbzeEx— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) September 9, 2026 Per Stars and Stripes, O’Connor submitted these requests without the necessary supervisor approvals or signed documentation that would typically verify who performed at a specific funeral. There were no records to prove these events ever actually took place. Beyond the claims for the other soldiers, O’Connor also personally submitted over $18,800 in pay requests for himself. The total amount stolen from the Army reached nearly $101,900. Earlier this year, federal child care funding was stopped for the state of Minnesota after fraud allegations triggered an investigation. Following an internal Army investigation, O’Connor was reportedly demoted to private before being discharged in April 2019 under what court records describe as “under other than honorable conditions.” The legal fallout from the 2021 indictment against all seven soldiers has been extensive. As of the recent sentencing, O’Connor had already paid back nearly $16,400 in restitution. Recently, in another fraud investigation, 11 servicemen were indicted for selling marriages to a Chinese crime ring. According to the Army Times, three of the conspirators, soldiers Derrick Branch, Lynea Sanders, and Chantelle Davis, had entered guilty pleas as part of the broader investigation. The court records show that the sentence handed down to O’Connor is the sixth to stem from the original indictment. One of the former soldiers reportedly had their charges dismissed in April. Another, Terrance Howard, was found by the court in March to not be mentally competent to stand trial, leading to a dismissal of his charges. Former Army Pay Technician Sentenced for Claiming Pay for Military Funeral Honors Ceremonies That Never Occurredhttps://t.co/Pkc23zFk0a pic.twitter.com/Rwyg9rsgQ0— U.S. Attorney EDLA (@EDLAnews) September 8, 2026 The other participants in the scheme received various sentences for their roles. Per the outlet, Cody Francis, a former specialist, was ordered to repay nearly $11,400 and perform 100 hours of community service, receiving one year of probation that was later doubled for violating his agreement. Leroy Daniels Jr. received 2.5 years of probation and was ordered to pay $11,700 in restitution. Derrick Branch received two years of probation and 50 hours of community service, while Chantelle Davis was ordered to serve two years of probation and pay back about $8,400. Lynea Sanders received the longest probationary period of the group at three years, along with 150 hours of community service and $21,800 in restitution. The military honors process is an incredibly important ceremony for grieving families. Per the outlets, the prosecutors highlighted a severe lack of oversight that allowed this fraud to occur at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. It highlights how vulnerable administrative systems can be when they lack rigorous verification. U.S. Attorney Courcelle has since praised the work of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division for its efforts in bringing this case to a resolution.