( CNN ) -- A former General Services Administration official who organized a lavish 2010 Las Vegas conference that critics lambasted as a waste of taxpayer money was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in San Francisco . Jeffrey Neely , who was famously photographed in a bathtub in a Las Vegas hotel room with wine glasses nearby , had served as a GSA regional commissioner . Neely was indicted on three counts of making false claims , one count of using false documents and one count of making false statements , according to court documents . Each charge is punishable by five years imprisonment and a $ 250,000 fine . The indictments allege Neely asked the GSA to pay for two trips to Las Vegas as well as trips to Long Beach and Cambria , California , knowing they were n't for business purposes . He 's also being prosecuted for an allegedly false travel voucher filed for roundtrip airfare between Guam and Saipan . During 2012 hearings , members of Congress sharply criticized the GSA for lax oversight of billions of dollars in contracts and called for the agency to clean house as it roots out corruption . Neely cited his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify . The scandal came to light when a GSA inspector released a report shedding light on the Las Vegas conference as well as violations of travel and spending rules . Among other details , the report explained how Neely , and presumably others , avoided strictures against supplying food at government work conferences such as the Las Vegas event by creating joke awards in order to hold ceremonies at which food would be allowed . It was not clear from the indictment what occurs next in the case , or what Neely 's status was on Thursday . Neely is expected to make his first court appearance on October 20 .
A federal grand jury indicts Jeffrey Neely on five counts . He 's accused of filing false expense accounts . He was criticized for organizing a $ 800,000 Las Vegas conference .