Jamesy Havens Sentenced As Leader Of Fraud Ring

-Approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent loans obtained from car loan companies -Fraudsters concealed scheme by filing false claims of identity theft

            LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman announced today that Senior United States District Judge Charles R. Simpson III sentenced Jamesy Havens, age 42, of Louisville, Kentucky, to 70 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and multiple money laundering offenses.  The Court ordered Havens to pay restitution of $1,449,482.66 to the victims of his scheme.

            The Court sentenced Havens and his co-defendants for their participation in a fraudulent scheme that defrauded over 39 lenders who loaned money for the purchase of cars from May 2013 to August 2015.  The total amount of loss to the lenders was $1,449,482.66.  The Court sentenced co-defendant Ronald Brent Lovell, age 36, of Louisville, Kentucky to 37 months in prison, 3 years supervised release, and ordered him to pay $545,274 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and three counts of money laundering. The Court sentenced co-defendant Jasen Coon, age 40, of Florida, to 27 months in prison, 3 years supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of money laundering, and ordered him to pay $171,398.31 in restitution.  The Court sentenced Co-defendant Danny Lee Coslow, age 50, of La Grange, Kentucky to 21 months in prison and 3 years supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of money laundering.  The Court ordered Coslow to pay $571,775.22 in restitution. The Court sentenced Christopher Peplinski, age 44, of Michigan, to 3 years’ probation for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and four counts of money laundering.  The Court ordered Peplinski to pay $257,746.41 in restitution.  The Court sentenced Co-defendant David Farnsworth, age 52, of Louisville, Kentucky, to 3 years of probation and ordered him to pay $302,525.34 in restitution.   There is no parole in the federal system for those sentenced to prison terms.

            According to the plea agreement filed in the case, the United States’ sentencing memorandum, and testimony during the sentencing hearing, Havens and his co-conspirators applied for car loans with no intent of repaying them.  Those involved in the scheme subsequently fraudulently denied applying for the loans and claimed that someone else had stolen their identities and submitted the loan applications.  Havens and his co-conspirators laundered the loan proceeds through false businesses and bank accounts designed to appear as legitimate car dealerships.  They then used the laundered funds for their own personal use.  The loans ultimately defaulted.  In order to remove the defaulted loans from their credit histories and to interfere with legitimate collection efforts, Havens and the co-conspirators submitted false identity theft claims to credit reporting agencies claiming they were victims of identity theft.  In order to support their identify theft claims, Havens and others created or filed false police reports.

            Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Judd prosecuted the case.  The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service investigated the case.