Days before the one-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado that cut through Joplin, a number of fraud cases related to the storm have made headway.
Springfield man sentenced in bank fraud schemeA Springfield man who claimed to be a Joplin tornado victim in order to commit bank fraud was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr.
Justin Compton, 31, was sentenced to five years and 11 months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $46,665 in restitution. Compton must serve the prison time consecutively with a two-year sentence for violations of the terms of his supervised release for two prior fraud convictions, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
For the latest case, Compton pleaded guilty Dec. 6, admitting he engaged in bank fraud through a checking account he opened May 20, 2011, at a Regions Bank branch in Ozark.
Compton, who didn't deposit any funds into the account, wrote a number of hot checks in order to steal goods and services from various businesses in Greene, Barry, Jasper, Lawrence, and Taney counties. According to the release, Compton falsely claimed he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army and a victim of the Joplin tornado to convince businesses to accept the checks. When checks began to be returned because of insufficient funds, he also attempted to keep the checking account open by falsely claiming his family had been victims of the tornado.
Compton admitted he engaged in similar schemes via accounts he opened at Higher One Bank, Armed Forces Bank and Academy Bank. Through the four bank accounts, Compton admitted he wrote 225 checks, resulting in losses of $160,673 for more than 50 victims, the release said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich and was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
Attorney general sues Lebanon companyMissouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed criminal charges against the operators of a Lebanon contractor and its owners for allegedly defrauding Joplin homeowners in the wake of the tornado.
The suit charges Jeffrey Wolfson and Gloria Diane Schoeller, who offered insurance claim adjusting and home repair services for Joplin tornado victims via Insurexx LLC, according to a May 16 news release.
The suit alleges the defendants accepted checks from three Joplin homeowners and didn't perform any home repairs; falsely promised reimbursements to homeowners for payments made to subcontractors; did not follow through on promises to start repair work immediately; and acted as public insurance adjusters without a license from the Missouri Department of Insurance.
The suit, filed in Jasper County, charges the defendants with three counts of stealing by deceit, three counts of unlawful merchandising practices fraud, three counts of insurance fraud and two counts of public adjusting without a license. Koster filed an additional count against Schoeller in Laclede County for allegedly interfering with a civil investigative demand, according to the release.
Because he has prior felony convictions, Wolfson could face a term of up to 15 years per count in prison if he is convicted on the six most serious counts. Schoeller could face up to 10 years in prison per count for the three most serious counts, the release said.
Defendants indicted for disaster benefits fraudSeven Joplin residents and a Lebanon man have been indicted in separate and unrelated cases for allegedly committing fraud to receive federal disaster benefits after the Joplin tornado.
According to a a May 16 news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, the defendants are:
- Karen Marie Parks, 37, of Joplin;
- Ronald Martell Irby, 29, of Joplin;
- Amber Nicole Peters, 22, of Joplin;
- Scott Bradley Olsen, 57, of Joplin;
- Wanda Gail McBride, 51, of Joplin;
- Pamala Ann Shafer, 37, of Joplin;
- Valerie Ann Jay, 41, of Borger, Texas, and formerly of Joplin; and
- Shane Ellis, 36, of Lebanon.
The Joplin residents and Jay were charged in separate indictments returned under seal April 3 by a federal grand jury in Springfield, and Ellis was charged in an indictment returned under seal May 8. The indictments have been made public following the arrests and initial court appearances of five of the defendants, who were not named in the release.
Each of the defendants allegedly applied for federal disaster benefits by falsely claiming their homes and property had been damaged or destroyed by the Joplin tornado.
Seven of the defendants each are charged with one count of disaster fraud and one count of making false statement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and McBride is charged with one count of disaster fraud and two counts of making false statements, according to the release.
