TACOMA, WA – A former Washington state worker who admitted to embezzling nearly $900,000 in taxpayer funding to finance his gambling addiction was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison.
Matthew Ping, an ex-employee at the Office of Administrative Hearings, will also need to pay $1.1 million in restitution for the money he stole and unpaid taxes on it.
Before the fraud case, Ping filed for personal bankruptcy four times, in 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2018, court records show. In the 2018 bankruptcy, the year before his embezzlement began, Ping reported $190,000 in debt.
A state audit found the office’s internal controls to prevent the type of fraud Ping carried out were inadequate.
Ping, 48, had worked at the state agency since 2009.
In May 2019, Ping reportedly received about $4,900 in salary payments from the Office of Administrative Hearings, which handles disputes between state and local government agencies and residents. That month, he withdrew at least $3,800 at western Washington casinos. By the end of the month, his checking account was overdrawn.
The next month he began stealing public money, according to court papers.
As a management analyst, Ping had an agency credit card, and was the only employee with access to the office’s bank statements, according to court papers. His salary in 2022 was $82,500, according to Washington’s payroll database.
The defendant set up a fake company, called RCC Professional, to funnel money from his work card directly to his personal bank account, according to court documents. The payments would appear on bank statements like legitimate transactions.
Between 2019 and 2023, Ping used this scheme to steal nearly $861,000. Over this time, he created three other fictitious businesses to hide his fraud, according to court documents. He also reportedly used his agency credit card to make $17,000 more in personal purchases.
Ping’s public defender, Lindsay McCaslin, acknowledged “of course he should’ve stopped.”
“But addiction is compulsive, by definition,” she said in court Thursday, adding that treatment resources for gambling addiction are minimal compared to other disorders.
Ping spoke in court, as well, noting he called a gambling hotline, only to be directed to a local clinic with a 13-week wait for an appointment. Ping has now been getting treatment for months and hasn’t gambled for over a year, he added.
Ping apologized for his actions in court.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for the hurt that my actions have caused and I take full responsibility for them,” he said, and referring to his coworkers, added “the shame I feel for hurting them will never go away.”
The fraud was the largest state agency misappropriation in at least 15 years, according to state Auditor Pat McCarthy.
He used the money for at least a half-dozen trips to Las Vegas and to pay off a loan for a used Mercedes-Benz, prosecutors say. Casinos comped Ping’s hotel rooms in Las Vegas, his attorney said.
At the height of his gambling, Ping received many such perks, including sports game and concert tickets and thousands of dollars in free play per week, he said.
Ping didn’t report any of his newfound wealth on federal tax returns, resulting in a $240,000 tax loss.
Federal prosecutor Dane Westermeyer noted in court Thursday that the defendant was paid to work while embezzling, on top of his fraud and unpaid taxes.
“Mr. Ping effectively stole from Washingtonians three times over,” Westermeyer said.
Ping took a number of steps to further circumvent the agency’s policies for approving credit card transactions, so his fraud would go unnoticed.
The years of theft were only discovered when state auditors launched a normal audit of his office and asked questions about his fraudulent payments. He resigned in summer 2023.
Ping pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return in June of this year. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faced 37 to 46 months in prison.
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Tiffany Cartwright to sentence Ping to 2 ¾ years, a prison term below the standard range, followed by three years of probation. The defense requested no prison time, instead pushing for five years of probation and a year of electronic home monitoring.
Cartwright decided on a middle ground, noting the way Ping’s addiction consumed him while also weighing how a prison sentence could serve as a deterrent for future offenders.
“I really hope you can find a way to tell your story about how you ended up in this place that can be helpful to others,” the judge told Ping.
Insurance covered $628,000 of the Office of Administrative Hearing’s losses, so that portion of restitution will go to the insurer.
After the state audit uncovered deficiencies in the office’s oversight of credit card payments, the agency committed to implementing a number of new safeguards. That included giving several employees access to credit card statements and requiring more documentation to support each charge.
“I want to assure everyone that when the misappropriation was detected, OAH immediately took steps to protect the agency and the public from further loss,” said RaShelle Davis, the office’s chief administrative law judge, in a statement. “We implemented all the recommendations of the State Auditor and integrated ongoing oversight and monitoring to ensure those controls remain effective.”
“We are thankful Matt Ping is being brought to justice on behalf of the people of Washington,” Davis said.
This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.
