Credit Union Employee Indicted for Embezzlement and Altering Records

BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury today indicted a Guin woman for embezzling money from Listerhill Credit Union and falsifying credit union records to hide the theft of $239,000, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley announced.

An indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges April Mayfield McLemore, 30, who was an employee at the Winfield branch of Listerhill Credit Union in Marion County, with embezzling from the credit union from about May 2006 to March 2011. The indictment also charges McLemore with making false entries in the credit union’s computer records on March 24, 2011 to hide her embezzlement from officers and auditors of the credit union. The indictment seeks to have McLemore forfeit $239,000 to the government as proceeds of illegal activity.

If convicted, McLemore would face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Estes and Michelle Abroms Levin are prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Former Head of Procurement for Local Restaurant Pleads Guilty to Computer Fraud

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Shawn Michael Haygood, age 40, a resident of Rowlet, Texas, pled guilty as charged to a one-count indictment which alleged computer fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. A grand jury returned the indictment in February 2011.

According to the indictment, Haygood was a purchaser/manager at an upscale restaurant in New Orleans. He designed a fraudulent scheme whereby he claimed he purchased perishable food items for the restaurant, when he did not. Haygood produced a paper tape on his desk calculator with figures on it which he claimed represented purchases of produce on behalf of the restaurant. He then input the fraudulent amounts into the restaurant’s computer system, which produced a receipt he used to get cash. Over about a 30-month period, Haygood stole $268,774 from the restaurant.

Haygood faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release after imprisonment for a period of up to three years. He could also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim. Sentencing is set for September 5, 2012.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. of the Financial and Computer Crime Unit.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes

Commissioner’s Son (a Zoning Board Member), and Another Associate Also Plead Guilty to Participating in the Bribery Scheme and to Drug Trafficking

ATLANTA—A Gwinnett County Commissioner, Shirley Lasseter, 64, of Duluth, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to accepting bribes in exchange for her support for a proposed real estate development in her district. Lasseter’s son, John Fanning, 34, of Dacula, and Carl “Skip” Cain, 65, of Flowery Branch, an associate of Lasseter’s, also pleaded guilty today to participating in the bribery scheme and to drug trafficking.

“Today’s guilty pleas are part of an on-going effort to root out public corruption in Gwinnett County,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Yates. “The citizens of Gwinnett County have a right to elected officials who serve the public. Instead, these defendants used the office of a county commissioner to line their pockets by taking payoffs from individuals whom they believed to be drug traffickers. These defendants broke the public trust and the law. We will continue to aggressively pursue corrupt public officials and those who conspire with them.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “Today’s guilty pleas are the culmination of an extensive investigation by the FBI and demonstrates the FBI’s commitment toward such public corruption investigations, to include those involving elected officials. Anyone with information regarding public corruption activities are urged to contact their nearest FBI field office.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court, Lasseter serves as the elected District One Commissioner on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. Fanning is Lasseter’s son and operates a landscaping business. Fanning was also a member of the Gwinnett County Zoning Appeals Board, a position with a one-year term that began in February 2011 after he was appointed by his mother.

Lasseter, Fanning, and Cain agreed to sell Lasseter’s official approval of and vote for a proposed real estate development in her district to an undercover agent with the FBI, who was posing as a businessman. Cain, who works at a trucking business, served as a “bagman” for Lasseter and Fanning, arranging the bribes required for their official approval and setting up meetings with them for the payment of the requested bribes. After Cain said that he was interested in making money from drug trafficking and illegal money laundering, the undercover agent told the defendants a fabricated story that he laundered money for drug dealers and that drug trafficking proceeds would fund the proposed real estate development.

In multiple meetings, Lasseter and Fanning told the undercover agent that Lasseter’s approval and vote regarding the proposed development was for sale. They also told the undercover agent that Fanning could use his position as a member of the Zoning Appeals Board to help secure any necessary approvals or variances. Lasseter also discussed with the agent the possibility that, in exchange for the requested bribes, the county would buy any portions of the property that could not be developed profitably. Although Lasseter said that such a purchase would be difficult because a state special grand jury had investigated county land purchases, she confirmed that she would secure the necessary approvals for the undercover agent to develop the property.

In exchange for Lasseter’s official approval and vote, the defendants demanded and were paid or promised the following benefits:

■Lasseter received a total of $36,500 in cash, paid in several installments, the largest installment being a $26,000 cash payment that she and Fanning counted out together to ensure that the total was correct. Each time Lasseter received cash in exchange for her official action on the proposed development, she confirmed to the undercover agent that she would give her official approval and vote for the proposed development.

■Cain was paid a total of $10,000, which he demanded as his fee for arranging Lasseter and Fanning’s involvement.

■Fanning was to receive an ownership stake in a business to be located in the proposed development.

Lasseter, Fanning, and Cain also said that they wanted to work with the undercover agent on additional matters involving misuse of Lasseter’s official position and other illegal activities. In several meetings, Lasseter and Fanning sought to enlist the agent’s help as a bag man in leveraging Lasseter’s official position to enrich themselves personally from the proposed privatization of the Gwinnett County Airport.

In addition, Fanning and Cain acted as couriers delivering what they believed to be cocaine and what they believed to be drug money. Fanning and Cain each laundered $10,000 cash, keeping an amount that represented what they understood to be the standard fee for laundering proceeds from illegal drug trafficking. Fanning and Cain also transported a substance that they believed to be cocaine from the New York City area to Atlanta. After flying to the New York City area and spending the night, Fanning and Cain flew back with four kilograms of sham cocaine. After their plane landed in Atlanta, Fanning and Cain each took possession of two kilograms to make a delivery to a prospective buyer. Law enforcement officers detained Fanning and Cain before they could make the planned delivery. Law enforcement officers also confronted Lasseter the same day. All three defendants are cooperating with law enforcement.

Lasseter was charged in a criminal information on May 31, 2012, with corruptly soliciting and accepting a bribe. She pleaded guilty and could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Fanning and Cain were charged in the same criminal information with participating in the bribery scheme and with drug trafficking. Fanning and Cain pleaded guilty to those charges and could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the bribery count. Fanning and Cain face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years on the drug trafficking count, which carries a maximum sentence of forty years and a fine of up to $5,000,000. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 6, 2012, before United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Douglas W. Gilfillan is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following website: www.justthinktwice.com.

Member of Large-Scale Identity Theft Ring Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Role in Fraud Enterprise

NEWARK—A Bergen County man who fraudulently established credit scores for co-conspirators in a criminal enterprise and helped others fraudulently obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in commercial loans was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Ho K. Yu, a/k/a “Edmund,” 60, of Tenafly, New Jersey previously pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions. U.S. District Judge Katherine S. Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

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

Yu was part of a fraud ring that engaged in identity theft and financial crimes that have led to charges against 54 individuals. Yu admitted his role in three separate conspiracies, including that from 2001 through 2002, he conspired with others to fraudulently obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in small business loans for unqualified borrowers. Yu and his co-conspirators submitted false loan applications and supporting documents to a lender. The vast majority of these loans defaulted, resulting in significant losses to the lender.

Yu also admitted that between 2006 and January 2009, he conspired with others to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal business loans for unqualified borrowers. Yu and a co-conspirator manufactured false tax returns and W-2 forms and submitted them with bogus loans applications to lenders. The vast majority of these loans defaulted, resulting in significant losses to the lenders.

Finally, Yu admitted that he conspired with Sang-Hyun Park, a/k/a “Jimmy,” who was the leader of a criminal organization (the Park Criminal Enterprise) headquartered in Bergen County, by fraudulently building credit scores for Park’s customers. The Park Criminal Enterprise obtained Social Security cards beginning with the prefix “586,” which were issued by the United States to individuals, usually from China, who were employed in American territories, such as American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan. The Park Criminal Enterprise sold the cards to its customers and then escorted the customers to various states to use them to obtain identification cards and driver’s licenses. The Park Criminal Enterprise then engaged in the fraudulent “build up” of credit scores associated with these fraudulently obtained identities. Yu acknowledged that he received approximately $500 in cash for each identity he added to his accounts. In total, Yu and his co-conspirators caused in excess of $2.5 million in losses to banks, credit card companies, and other lenders.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Yu to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $3,400,412 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge JoAnn S. Zuniga; the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General Jon T. Rymer; and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, and the office’s Chief of Detectives Steven Cucciniello for their work leading to today’s guilty pleas.

Irish National Pleads Guilty to Transportation of Child Pornography

NEWARK—Farrell Corrway, 29, an Irish national, today admitted to transporting more than 600 images of child pornography into New Jersey on a computer hard drive, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Corrway pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of transportation of child pornography.

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

Corrway admitted that on September 7, 2010, he transported more than 600 images of child pornography into the state on an external hard drive that was in his possession. Corrway, who was present in the United States on a travel visa, was the subject of a child pornography investigation by the FBI in Buffalo, New York, when law enforcement officers learned Corrway was planning to leave the country from Newark. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers conducted a border search of Corrway’s possessions at Newark Liberty International Airport and identified multiple images of child pornography on the external hard drive in Corrway’s possession. Corrway acknowledged that among the images of child pornography were depictions of prepubescent minors and portrayals of sadistic conduct or other depictions of violence to children.

As part of his guilty plea, Corrway agreed to forfeit the external hard drive that he used to commit the offense. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The transportation of child pornography count to which Corrway pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for September 11, 2012.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota in Buffalo, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked CBP Officers, under the direction of Director Robert E. Perez, Field Operations, New York, for their vital investigative role.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes, Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.