A former U.S. Army soldier-turned-civilian contractor was recently convicted in federal court after prosecutors said he used insider knowledge from his military supply work to steal more than 200 pallets of Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) from Fort Bliss, Texas, in a scheme worth approximately $1.12 million.
Joseph Lavar Davis, 47, was convicted June 30 by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and theft of government property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Prosecutors said Davis and three co-defendants were charged in a Feb. 12, 2025, indictment over conduct that ran from Feb. 24, 2020, through Aug. 12, 2020.
Davis previously worked in food service supply while serving in the Army, where he learned how the military obtained MREs, prosecutors said. After retiring, he returned to a similar role as a civilian contractor at Fort Bliss and used that access to create false requests, rent trucks, arrange pickups, negotiate sales prices and coordinate payments for the stolen meals.
The case involved more than missing field rations. Prosecutors claim the conspiracy included a civilian contractor who knew how to request and pick up MREs, a soldier who helped transport them, an intermediary between the buyer and the people obtaining the meals, and a civilian who sold the MREs online.
U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons framed the case as perfidy by someone who knew the military supply system from the inside, saying Davis “betrayed the very country he once swore to protect” for personal gain.
What Investigators Found
The case surfaced Aug. 12, 2020, when FBI agents and Army Criminal Investigation Division agents searched a civilian warehouse in El Paso and found about 100 pallets of MREs, according to prosecutors.
Investigators later determined the warehouse owner had bought the pallets from people who had stolen them from Fort Bliss.
Davis was not charged alone. A February 2025 indictment also charged Jatavis Lenard Fuse, Tyrone Lamar Odum Turner and John Broberg.
Fuse, a former soldier assigned to the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss from July 2014 to August 2020, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit theft of government property and theft of government property. Turner, also a former service member, pleaded guilty to conspiracy as part of a plea deal. Broberg, who owned and operated the warehouse, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge.
The Charges and Possible Penalties
Davis was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and theft of government property.
The conspiracy charge falls under 18 U.S.C. § 371, which applies when two or more people agree to commit an offense against the United States or defraud the United States, and at least one person takes an act to advance the conspiracy. The statute carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison unless the underlying offense is only a misdemeanor.
The theft charge falls under 18 U.S.C. § 641, which covers stealing, converting, receiving, concealing or selling U.S. government property. When the property is worth more than $1,000, the statute allows a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine or both.
The Justice Department said the case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from Army CID and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori Hughes and Mallory Rasmussen.
Davis is currently on pretrial release and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
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