Charlene Corley

Charlene Shuler Corley is a former defense contractor who was convicted in 2007 on two counts of conspiracy. Over the course of nine years leading up to September 2006, the company owned by Corley and her sister was found to have received over US$21.5 million from the United States Department of Defense for fraudulent shipping costs; in one instance, the company was paid US$998,798 for shipping two 19-cent washers. In 2009, Corley was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay US$15.5 million in restitution.

Crime Along with her twin sister Darlene Shuler Wooten, Corley was the co-owner of C&D Distributors, a supplier of small hardware components, plumbing fixtures and electronic equipment to the military. The company, based in Lexington, South Carolina, used a computerized government system that allowed shipping costs for each order to be submitted separately and automatically reimbursed. Using the system, C&D Distributors received payment from the Department of Defense on 112 fraudulent invoices, totaling US$20.5 million in illegitimate charges, for parts sent to priority military installations, including destinations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Corley served her 78-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Marianna in Marianna, Florida. With time off for good behavior, she was released on February 7, 2015.

The scam was profiled on CNBC's American Greed and ID's Evil Twins.