Former Ohio Deputy Treasurer Extradited from Pakistan to Serve 15-Year Sentence for Bribery

A former deputy treasurer of Ohio has been extradited from Pakistan to the United States to serve a 15-year prison sentence for his role in a bribery and money laundering scheme involving the Ohio Treasurer’s Office.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark T. D’Alessandro of the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division, Attorney General Mike DeWine of Ohio and U.S. Marshal Peter C. Tobin of the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.

Amer Ahmad, 40, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in December 2013 to federal program bribery and conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud and money laundering.  Following his guilty plea, Ahmad fled the United States and was arrested by Pakistani authorities while attempting to illegally enter that country.  He has remained in custody and the U.S. government requested his extradition.  On Dec. 1, 2014, Ahmad was sentenced in abstentia by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson of the Southern District of Ohio to 15 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $3.2 million in illicit proceeds. 

A remand hearing has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 28, before U.S. District Judge Watson.

According to admissions in connection with his guilty plea, from January 2009 through January 2011, Ahmad used his position as deputy treasurer to direct official state of Ohio business to securities broker Douglas E. Hampton in return for bribes.  Ahmad and Chicago businessman Joseph Chiavaroli concealed the payments they received from Hampton by passing them through the accounts of their landscaping business.  Hampton also funneled more than $123,000 to Mohammed Noure Alo, an attorney and lobbyist who was Ahmad’s close personal friend and business associate.  Over the course of the scheme, Hampton paid in excess of $500,000 in bribes and received, in exchange, approximately $3.2 million in commissions for 360 securities trades on behalf of the Ohio Treasurer’s Office.

In November 2014, Hampton and Alo were sentenced to 45 months and 48 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the scheme.  Chiavaroli was sentenced in December 2014 to 18 months in prison. 

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Central Ohio Public Corruption Task Force, which includes special agents from the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.  The U.S. Marshals Service joined the investigation after Ahmad fled the United States.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this matter.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Eric L. Gibson and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas W. Squires of the Southern District of Ohio.

Former Bank Employee Indicted for Fraud, Bribery, Money Laundering

Actions Led to $12 Million Loss

A 44-count indictment was filed against Paulette Roberts related to a scheme that resulted in the loss of $12 million while she was employed at Fifth Third Bank, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Steven D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Field Office.

Roberts, 54, resides in Sylvania, Ohio, according to court documents.

Roberts, a loan officer and vice president at Fifth Third Bank in Toledo, falsified documents and submitted them to bank officials to obtain credit approval for large commercial loans which would have otherwise been declined, according to the indictment.

In conjunction with these loans, Roberts solicited and accepted a gratuity payment from the borrowers. She then attempted to conceal these funds by creating a fake consulting business under which she invoiced borrowers for services not performed and accepted the gratuities, according to the indictment.

Roberts ultimately spent the concealed funds to purchase two vehicles, gold coins, and other assets. As a result of defaults upon these loans, the Fifth Third Bank of Toledo, Ohio, suffered a loss of approximately $12 million, according to the indictment.

The indictment charges Roberts with one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, one count of financial institution fraud, one count of bank bribery, and 41 counts of money laundering.

“Financial crimes come in all shapes and sizes, from self-dealing to Ponzi schemes,” Dettelbach said. “In this case the defendant took advantage of her employer’s trust in an effort to enrich herself.”

“Unfortunately, for some, personal greed trumps work ethic and the law as evidenced in this case,” Anthony said. “Paulette Roberts used her banking knowledge to falsify documents and mislead the financial institution that employed her by attempting to line her own pockets. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate financial crimes that negatively impact our federally insured banking institutions.”

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any; the defendant’s role in the offense; and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigating agency in this case is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Toledo, Ohio. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph R. Wilson and Gene Crawford.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Former Essex County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Money Laundering

CAMDEN, NJ—A former Essex County Deputy Sheriff was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for laundering money he believed was the proceeds of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Eric Hawkins, 44, of Union, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with money laundering. He entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In addition to serving as a deputy with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, Hawkins owned a non-profit business, Urban Community Unification Inc. Hawkins met with an undercover law enforcement officer who held himself out to be a broker who laundered cash for a drug dealer. Hawkins agreed to launder cash—proceeds of the drug dealer’s drug trafficking business—through Urban Community Unification, listing the cash as a “donation.” Hawkins accepted $25,000, $35,000, and $20,000 in cash on three separate occasions and laundered the money through his company’s bank account. He returned a portion of the cash, less a 5 percent fee he charged for laundering the money. Hawkins also accepted $75,000 in cash to launder.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Hawkins to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents from the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark; and special agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation in Mays Landing, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Victor W. Lessoff; and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s sentence.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Stephen Stigall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

MINNEAPOLIS—Today in federal court, a 35-year-old Rochester man pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Jason Michael Meyer, who was charged via an information on August 21, 2012, made his initial appearance in federal court today and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery.

In his plea agreement, Meyer admitted that he started an investment company, 3 Hooligans Investment Properties, LLC (3 Hooligans), in 2007. Meyer then represented that he was an experienced investor and began soliciting people to invest their money with 3 Hooligans. He promised his clients both significant and rapid returns for their investments, with no risk, and deposited their money into a bank account he opened at Wells Fargo. However, instead of investing their money, Meyer often used the funds to pay for his personal expenses, including payments on his house in Rochester, family vacations, and car payments on his wife’s BMW. To continue the scheme, Meyer found new clients and used their money to pay previous clients.

Until the fraudulent scheme was discovered in 2010, Meyer participated in approximately 30 transactions each of money laundering and wire fraud that the government believes resulted in losses exceeding $7 million.

For his crimes, Meyer faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years in prison for money laundering. Judge Montgomery will determine his sentence at a future hearing, not yet scheduled.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura M. Provinzino.