A former Washington state employee was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Thursday for embezzling nearly $900,000 from state funds through a sophisticated credit card fraud scheme driven by gambling addiction.
Matthew Randall Ping, 48, of Olympia, manipulated payment processing and expense review systems during his tenure at the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings to steal $878,115 between 2019 and 2023, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright acknowledged the role of addiction in Ping’s crimes during sentencing. “Your crime was very serious, but was driven by severe addiction. Gambling addiction can destroy the life of someone who is otherwise an upstanding citizen,” Cartwright stated.
Ping had worked for the Office of Administrative Hearings since 2009, advancing to Management Analyst by 2017 before exploiting his position as the department’s credit card custodian to execute the embezzlement scheme.
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller emphasized the unprecedented scale of the theft. “This theft was not just the largest insider embezzlement from Washington State in the last 15 years, it also undermines trust in our state financial safeguards,” Miller said.
The fraud involved creating fraudulent vendor accounts and charging over $330,000 to state credit cards between 2019 and 2021. Ping escalated the scheme in 2021, stealing an additional $530,000 while making $17,359 in personal purchases using state credit cards.
Assistant United States Attorney Dane Westermeyer revealed that Ping gambled most stolen funds at casinos, financed Las Vegas trips, and paid off a luxury vehicle loan. The defendant failed to report the embezzled income on federal tax returns, resulting in nearly $250,000 in tax losses.
Ping pleaded guilty in June 2025 to wire fraud and filing false tax returns. During sentencing, he expressed remorse and described seeking help for gambling addiction, though he noted limited available resources.
Judge Cartwright encouraged Ping to advocate for improved gambling addiction services, highlighting gaps in treatment availability that may contribute to such destructive behavior patterns.
The Washington State Auditor’s Office uncovered the embezzlement through routine oversight procedures, leading to Ping’s 2023 resignation. The discovery triggered a collaborative investigation involving the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the State Auditor’s Office.
Ping has agreed to pay full restitution totaling $1,118,362 to the state, its insurance provider, and the Internal Revenue Service. The restitution amount exceeds the stolen funds due to interest, penalties, and additional costs associated with the investigation and prosecution.
The case demonstrates vulnerabilities in state financial oversight systems while highlighting the destructive potential of gambling addiction on otherwise stable public employees with access to financial controls.
