Story highlights James Woosley pleaded guilty to defrauding the government

He faces a likely sentence of 18 to 27 months behind bars and must forfeit the funds

Woosley is the former intelligence chief for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

James M. Woosley, 48, pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding the government of more than $180,000 in a ruse that involved phony travel vouchers and kickbacks

The former intelligence chief for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces a likely sentence of 18 to 27 months behind bars and must forfeit the funds he wrongfully acquired, the Department of Justice reported.

"Today, James Woosley became the fifth - and highest-ranking - individual to plead guilty as part of a series of fraud schemes among rogue employees and contractors at ICE," U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. said. "He abused his sensitive position of trust to fleece the government by submitting phony paperwork for and taking kickbacks from subordinates who were also on the take."

Four others had pleaded guilty to charges related to the plot. They are former research specialists Ahmed Adil Abdallat, 64, and William J. Korn, 53; Stephen E. Henderson, 61, a former ICE contractor; Lateisha M. Rollerson, 38, a former assistant to Woosley.

Their combined actions cost ICE more than $600,000, the statement said.