SEATTLE – A respiratory therapist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Seattle pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to theft of government property.

41-year-old Gene Wamsley of Bonney Lake admitted to stealing respiratory medical equipment, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and selling them on eBay.

Wamsley faces up to ten years in prison for the theft of four bronchoscopes worth about $30,000 each, a $6,000 sleep apnea device, and a $10,000 respirator, which he sold to private citizens for a fraction of their value.