Two convicted of financial crimes Published May 30, 2003 OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) -- Two airmen have been convicted of various financial crimes during separate general courts-martial here.Master Sgt. Clarence Lott pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, submitting a false official document, larceny of housing allowances in excess of $500 and obstruction of justice. The sergeant, from the 51st Maintenance Group, had 19 years and 9 months of service at the time of trial.Lott submitted a false housing-allowance form to finance officials in which he claimed his dependents resided in San Francisco, when in fact they lived in Arizona. Prosecutors showed he stole about $19,000 in excess allowances by misrepresenting the location of his dependents.After realizing his larceny was about to be discovered, he obstructed justice by contacting a senior airman he had previously supervised and asking the airman to provide false information to investigators.Lott specifically asked the airman to provide a false address in San Francisco and to obtain false information from the airman’s sister, who lived there, to mislead investigators. Instead, the airman promptly reported Lott’s request to authorities.Capts. Matt Jarreau and Evelyn Frasure represented the Air Force, and Capt. Melanie Keiper defended Lott. The senior noncommissioned officer elected to have his case tried by a military judge alone.The judge was Col. David Brash from Yokota Air Base, Japan. He found Lott guilty of all three crimes and sentenced him to a bad-conduct discharge and reduction to senior airman. His discharge will be executed once the appellate process is complete. A bad-conduct discharge punitively removes the offender from the Air Force without any retirement benefits or pay.IN another court-martial here, Airman 1st Class Francisco Lira III, from the 51st Communications Squadron, pleaded guilty to writing about $7,200 worth of bad checks and misusing his government-travel card.Lira defrauded the Osan Enlisted Club, the Gateway Enlisted Club, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service by writing 59 worthless checks during many months. The Air Force has been recovering the bad check money from the offender by involuntary allotments of his military pay. The airman also repeatedly used his government travel card for unofficial, personal purposes and then did not pay the $4,200 debt.Maj. Jennifer Whittier and Frasure prosecuted the case, and Keiper served as defense counsel. Lira chose to be tried by military judge alone. Brash found the airman guilty of the all charges and sentenced him to reduction to airman basic, confinement for four months and a bad-conduct discharge. Lira was immediately transferred to the Army confinement facility at nearby Camp Humphreys.