2 men face federal charges in scheme to steal Humvees from Indiana naval base

Holly V. Hays
Indianapolis Star
A fighter, second from right, of U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council stands next to a U.S. humvee at a U.S. outpost near a road leading to the tense frontline between Syrian Manbij Military Council fighters and Turkish-backed fighters, at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria.

March 6, 2020 update: Richard S. Treloar has pleaded guilty to one count of conversion of government property, according to federal court records, and the remaining counts against him have been dropped. The terms of his sentence have not yet been finalized, although the offense carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. 

Court records indicate that the charges against Mark W. Collier have been dropped. 

Earlier, June 2018: U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler announced Wednesday that two men have been charged in a scheme to steal Humvee vehicles from a Southern Indiana military installation. 

Richard S. Treloar, 63, of St. Louis, faces seven counts of conversion of government property and seven counts of false statements, according to a news release. Mark W. Collier, 52, of Bedford, Ind., faces seven counts of false statements. 

Treloar's St. Louis-based Treloar Enterprises International Inc., was contracted with the Department of Defense to demilitarize military vehicles — essentially removing the functional capabilities and certain design features of the vehicle, which oftentimes meant completely destroying the Humvee.

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Humvees, currently being used in Afghanistan and Iraq, are military trucks that can be armored and outfitted with high-powered weapons. 

Between January 2014 and November 2015, the company received Humvees from Naval Support Activity Crane, located southwest of Bloomington, and was tasked with destroying them at a facility in Spencer, Ind.

Prosecutors allege Treloar converted at least seven fully armored trucks — valued at more than $589,000 — and sold or attempted to sell them, according to the news release.

Prosecutors say both Treloar and Collier certified that each Humvee had been demilitarized when they had not. 

“Theft, waste, fraud and abuse of government funds and equipment is never acceptable,” Minkler said in a written statement. “When it involves stealing from our military, it is a particularly egregious offense and those responsible will be held accountable."

The case was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General-Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Services and Defense Logistics Agency.

If convicted, Treloar faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of conversion of government property, and Collier faces up to five years for on each count of false statements, according to prosecutors. 

"Not only is fraud of this type a serious financial crime, the equipment involved is concerning,” Mike Wiest, special agent in charge of the NCIS Southeast Field Office, said in a written statement. “There are no legitimate civilian uses for an armored military vehicle. NCIS will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who siphon resources away from America's warfighters."