William Weeks, a Dartmouth Medical School professor, pled not guilty on Monday to charges of siphoning almost $1 million in contracts between the Department of Veteran Affairs and the College into his personal account. The trial is taking place at the U.S. District Court in Brattleboro, Vt.
Weeks initially denied the charges in May 2009 and has been free without bail for the past year.
The U.S. Attorney's office claims that Weeks simultaneously served as the VA contracting officer's technical representative and the College's principal investigator on the five contracts. As principal investigator for the College, Weeks carried out "the project's financial plan as presented in the funded proposal," The Dartmouth previously reported. Weeks failed to seek a waiver, however, that would have allowed him to represent both parties in the contract, according to court documents.
Weeks faces one to five years in prison for violating the federal conflict-of-interest law, which makes it illegal for government employees to participate in contracts from which they can gain financially, according to various news outlets. The current jury trial is expected to last up to two weeks, according to The Keene Sentinel.
Federal prosecutors allege that Weeks "knowingly submitted, or caused to be submitted" false claims to the VA for payment to the College for work that was supposed to be completed under the contract, but was not performed.
He has been charged with five federal misdemeanor counts and an 11-count civil complaint, which included five counts of conflict of interest, four counts of false claims, one count of "supplementing the salary of a government official" and one count of "breach of fiduciary duty," The Dartmouth previously reported.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Ross told the court that Weeks illegally siphoned money into a personal expense account for him and his wife, The Valley News reported.
Ross alleged that he used the money to buy various camera and video equipment, fund a trip to Spain and purchase alcohol for a party.
Additionally, he planned to fund a lengthy sabbatical and other personal expenditures in the future, according to reports.
"This case is about someone who is trusted to act for the government and instead acted for himself," Ross told the jury on Monday, according the Valley News. "The calculation was simple: The less money Dartmouth spent, the more money would be leftover at the end available to be transferred to the defendant's faculty reserve account."
Robert O'Neill, Weeks' attorney, told The Dartmouth last May that his client did not do anything wrong. He said that the remaining money from the contracts was used legally.
"At all times, he made sure all of the individuals were aware of his activities and that he did not personally profit from any of these activities," O'Neill said in the interview.
O'Neill explained to the court on Monday that the relationship between Dartmouth and VA physicians "is not simple" and that the two institutions routinely share projects, expenses and personnel, The Valley News reported.
Neil Nulty, general counsel for the VA Medical Center, testified that he informed Weeks of federal conflict of interest rules over a year before Weeks' alleged criminal acts.
Steven Rosenthal, an auditor for VA's internal watchdog agency and the first official to suspect Weeks of illegal proceedings, also testified at the trial, according to The Valley News.
Weeks filed a lawsuit against the federal government on April 9, 2009, claiming that the VA Office of the Inspector General employees illegally searched his office, questioned his former secretary and copied files stored on his computer, The Dartmouth previously reported.
He alleged that the government's investigation "intentionally and maliciously interfered" with his pending promotion to director of the Rural Health Resources Center-Eastern Region.
Weeks also experienced severe depression and tried to commit suicide after learning of the investigation, according to court documents.
Weeks has worked at the VA Medical Center since 1992. He has focused on conducting research and administering various VA programs, including the VA Quality Scholars Fellowship Program and the Veterans' Rural Health Initiative, since 2003, according to the DMS web site.
Weeks, O'Neill, Ross and the Public Affairs Office at the VA Medical Center could not be reached for comment by press time.
The College has not released any statements regarding the trial.
