Theft, Fraud Inquiry Focuses on Navy SEAL Unit

One of the Navy’s most secretive special operations units has become embroiled in a federal investigation focusing on thefts of government funds and equipment, officials said Tuesday.

The Navy, in a prepared statement, said three men who had been attached to its SEAL Team Six had either been indicted or court-martialed in recent months “and additional courts-martial and indictments are expected.”

The investigation began in late 1985, and “to date, information has been developed that a number of current and former personnel were involved in illegal activities including fraud, theft of government property and improper use of government funds,” the Navy said.

The SEALs--the acronym stands for the ability to operate at sea, in the air and on land--are Navy commandos who have been trained in underwater demolition. SEAL Team Six, based in Dam Neck, Va., outside Norfolk, is an even more specialized unit trained for counterterrorism work.

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger described the Navy investigations on Tuesday as narrowly focused on certain “individuals who, it is alleged, betrayed their trust.”

The Navy said the investigation “was triggered by reports from within the Navy that members of SEAL Team Six were committing fraud. The investigation is being conducted by the Naval Investigative Service and the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Va.”

The service said one former member of the team, identified as John Burton Mason, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on charges of falsifying travel and training vouchers and stealing $3,800 worth of scuba diving gear.

The Navy added that two other men had been court-martialed since the end of April and convicted of stealing $4,100 in government funds by filing false vouchers.