GULFPORT — A former high-ranking NASA official who's on federal probation faces fraud charges over a $600,000 contract awarded to Mississippi State University by Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
Courtney A. Stadd, 55, pleaded not guilty Monday to a nine-count indictment that alleges he conspired to have MSU subcontract $450,000 of work on a remote-sensing study to his consulting business, Capitol Solutions.
Stadd, of Bethesda, Md., was NASA's chief of staff and White House liaison from 2001 to 2003. He left to start his own consulting business in aerospace work and returned to NASA for a stint in 2005.
He is charged with conspiracy, two counts of false statements, four counts of false claims, and one count each of obstructing a grand jury investigation and major fraud. He faces maximum penalties of 55 years in prison and $4 million in fines.
Stadd was arraigned in Gulfport before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Roper.
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