WASHINGTON — A former employee of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management was sentenced to two years probation for steering more than $10 million worth of contracts toward businesses associated with herself or her husband.
Sheron Spann, 55, also was fined more than $10,000 when sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Spann, who resigned from OPM in March, pleaded guilty in May to a felony count of taking actions affecting a personal financial interest.
The actions occurred over a 12-year span, according to court records.
Prosecutors had asked that Spann be sentenced to probation, saying in a court filing that her "conduct must not be taken lightly — our government cannot properly function when the actions of government officials are not impartial."
Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of zero to six months in jail with eligibility for probation, according to the defendant's memorandum.
Spann's husband, Thomas Spann III, is the co-founder of Enlightened Inc., a cybersecurity and consulting firm.
The company won multiple OPM contracts, starting in 2011, with Spann serving as OPM's point of contact. The Spanns also benefited from Enlightened's contract with consulting firm Tier 1 LLC from March 2012 to April 2017, according to court records.