Former State Department Budget Analyst Sentenced to 12 Months for Embezzling More than $650,000

WASHINGTON - Levita Almuete Ferrer, 65, of Montgomery Village, Md., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 12 months and one day in prison for embezzling more than $650,000 from the U.S. State Department over a two-year period, using the funds to fuel her gambling addiction, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Ferrer, aka Levita Brezovic, pleaded guilty April 30, 2025, to theft of government property. In addition to the 12-month prison term, Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered Ferrer to serve three years of supervised release, to pay $657,347.50 in restitution to the U.S. government, and to not gamble or visit any casinos

Joining in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Brockschmidt of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Inspector General, and Deputy Assistant Director George Semertsidis of the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service Office of Special Investigations.

As part of her guilty plea, Ferrer admitted that she abused her signature authority over a State Department checking account between March 2022 and April 2024 while working as a Senior Budget Analyst in the State Department's Office of the Chief of Protocol. She issued 60 checks payable to herself and three checks payable to another individual with whom she had a personal relationship. She printed and signed each check and then deposited all 63 checks, which totaled $657,347.50, into her personal checking and savings accounts.

After her guilty plea, Judge Cooper set release conditions, which prohibited Ferrer from going to casinos. But the same day that she pled guilty, Ferrer went to the MGM National Harbor casino. She returned to the MGM a week later, gambling on high-limit slot machines. Once the government learned of Ferrer's casino visits, it brought her behavior to the attention of the Court. As a result, Judge Cooper revoked her release and ordered her detained pending sentencing.

Ferrer perpetrated her embezzlement scheme by abusing the signature authority that she had over a State Department checking account. Specifically, between March 2022 and April 2024 while working as a Senior Budget Analyst in the State Department's Office of the Chief of Protocol, she issued 60 checks payable to herself and three checks payable to another individual with whom she had a personal relationship. She printed and signed each check and then deposited all 63 checks, which totaled $657,347.50, into her personal checking and savings accounts.

Ferrer attempted to conceal her scheme by using a common QuickBooks account at the State Department. After entering her name as the payee on checks in QuickBooks and then printing them, she often changed the listed payee in QuickBooks from herself to an actual State Department vendor. As a result, anyone viewing those entries in the QuickBooks system did not see Ferrer's name as the payee on the checks unless they accessed an audit trail.

This case was investigated by the State Department's Office of Inspector General and Diplomatic Security Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with assistance from former Paralegal Specialist Sona Chaturvedi.

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