Tennessee Woman Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Stolen ID Refund Fraud

An Antioch, Tennessee, woman was sentenced to six years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Donald Q. Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Monique Ellis was convicted following a jury trial in October 2017 of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to documents filed with the court and evidence presented at trial, in January and February 2012, Monique Ellis used stolen IDs, including those of prisoners held by the Alabama Department of Corrections, to file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeking fraudulent refunds.  Ellis directed the fraudulently obtained refunds to bank accounts that she controlled, causing a tax loss of $700,933.20.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain ordered Ellis to serve three years of supervised release.  Restitution will be determined at a later date.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Cochran thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Former Major at Angola Prison Convicted of Federal Obstruction Offenses in Connection with Beating of Handcuffed and Shackled Inmate

Officer Conspired to Cover Up Abuse of Inmate

A former Major at Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) in Angola, Louisiana, was found guilty yesterday in federal court for conspiring to cover up the beating of a handcuffed and shackled inmate, and for writing a false report, falsifying official records, and lying under oath about what happened.

After four days of trial, a jury convicted Daniel Davis, 41, of Loranger, Louisiana, on four charges related to the cover up.  The jury heard evidence that Davis and three other supervisory officers used excessive force against an inmate who was shackled and handcuffed.  The other three officers -- former Captains James Savoy, 39, John Sanders, 30, and Scotty Kennedy, 49 -- had all previously pleaded guilty to various federal charges related to the beating and the conspiracy to cover it up.  At Davis’s trial, two of the Captains testified for the government and described the abuse and the extensive obstruction of justice.

After hearing testimony over the course of three days, the jury convicted Davis on all four counts related to the cover up of the beating. The evidence showed that Davis and the other officers conspired to cover up an incident in which the officers had repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped an inmate, causing serious injury including a bloody gash under his eye, a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.  The extensive cover up included lying to investigators, writing false reports, and fabricating prison documents to provide a false alibi for some of the participants.

The jury convicted Davis of conspiring with other officers to obstruct justice; obstructing justice by writing a false report; obstructing justice by corruptly persuading his subordinates to lie; and committing perjury by lying under oath in a federal civil deposition.  The jury acquitted Davis on one charge of violating the rights of the inmate by beating him, and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on a second charge related to the beating.  The government has not announced whether it intends to re-try the defendant on the count for which there was no verdict.

“As a Major at Angola, defendant Davis had been entrusted with great power, which he grossly abused by perverting the justice system by lying, writing false reports, and using his influence to encourage others to lie,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the public’s trust by committing crimes and to covering up violations of federal criminal law.”

“Justice was served today,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Corey R. Amundson.  “Although most corrections officers are good and honest public servants doing an enormously challenging and important job, Defendant Davis chose instead to become a criminal himself.  His actions were unjustifiable, intolerable, and criminal.  Our office remains steadfast in holding accountable those who violate the federal criminal civil rights laws and this prosecution of four high-ranking Angola corrections officers should illustrate that point very clearly.  I greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the FBI and the prosecutors from my office and the Civil Rights Division who handled this important matter.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Baton Rouge Resident Agency Office and was tried by Trial Attorneys Christopher J. Perras and Zachary Dembo of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick A. Menner, Jr., of the Middle District of Louisiana.

Former Missouri Elected Official and His Chief of Staff Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

The former County Executive for Jackson County, Missouri and his former chief of staff pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud political campaign funds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Michael Sanders, 50, of Independence, Missouri, and Calvin Williford, 60, of St. Joseph, Missouri, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark of the Western District of Missouri.

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, Sanders was the elected County Executive for Jackson County from January 2007 until December 2015.  Prior to serving as County Executive, Sanders was the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County.  Williford was a senior staff member for Sanders, and then later chief of staff, in the Office of the County Executive from 2007 to December 2015.  Prior to then, Williford served as Sanders’s Director of Public Affairs at the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.  Sanders and Williford defrauded political committees with which Sanders was affiliated by converting campaign contributions for their personal use.  Sanders and Williford misappropriated the money by directing the political committees to issue checks to certain individuals who performed little or no campaign-related work.  Instead, the individuals cashed the checks and then returned a portion of the money to Sanders or Williford, who used the cash at times to pay for personal expenses.  

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Lauren Bell and Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.