FATHER AND SON SENTENCED FOR ROLES IN FRAUDULENT CREDIT CARD DEBT ELIMINATION SCHEME
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Matt
Feb 27, 2009, 12:57:24 PM2/27/09
to LibertyResources Victims
FATHER AND SON SENTENCED FOR ROLES IN FRAUDULENT CREDIT CARD DEBT
ELIMINATION SCHEME
Operators of Liberty Resources defrauded 450 victims out of more than
$2 million
COLUMBUS – Dan Wickline, age 62, and his son Chad Wickline, age 34,
were sentenced in United States District Court here today for their
roles in operating a Canal Winchester-based company that fraudulently
advertised it could eliminate people’s credit card debt. Dan Wickline
was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Chad Wickline was sentenced
to 30 months imprisonment. Each man was also ordered to pay
restitution to victims.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Ohio, Gerald A. O’Farrell, Assistant Inspector in Charge,
U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in
Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, announced
the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L.
Marbley.
The Wicklines sold customers a product through their company,
Liberty Resources, that they guaranteed would eliminate customers’
credit card debt if they paid the fee, ranging from a few hundred to
several thousand dollars. If the product was purchased, the customers
received a document claiming that they were relieved from their credit
card debt. The debt elimination product, Liberty Resources claimed,
was based on what they claimed was a “loophole” in the banking laws.
Liberty Resources defrauded 450 victims out of more than $2
million between 2002 and 2006.
“Customers were lulled into believing their debt was taken
care of so they stopped paying creditors,” Lockhart said. “Many who
stopped paying found that their credit histories were destroyed when
they discontinued paying their credit card balances and the card
issuers sued them for payment. Some people had to declare bankruptcy
while others have had to come out of retirement to work off paying the
debt. No one who purchased the program had their debt eliminated. ”
The sentence also requires each man to pay all federal income
taxes owed, plus interest and penalties, on the money they received
from Liberty and elsewhere between 2002 and 2006.
Each of the Wicklines pleaded guilty on July 9, 2008 to one
count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Chad Wickline also
pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. Both men entered pleas
roughly two weeks after their trials began.
Three other company officials also pleaded guilty in
connection with the scheme and have been sentenced.
Lockhart commended the cooperative investigation by IRS agents
and Postal Inspectors, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcia
Harris and Dan Brown, who prosecuted the case.
ELIMINATION SCHEME
Operators of Liberty Resources defrauded 450 victims out of more than
$2 million
COLUMBUS – Dan Wickline, age 62, and his son Chad Wickline, age 34,
were sentenced in United States District Court here today for their
roles in operating a Canal Winchester-based company that fraudulently
advertised it could eliminate people’s credit card debt. Dan Wickline
was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Chad Wickline was sentenced
to 30 months imprisonment. Each man was also ordered to pay
restitution to victims.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Ohio, Gerald A. O’Farrell, Assistant Inspector in Charge,
U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in
Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, announced
the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L.
Marbley.
The Wicklines sold customers a product through their company,
Liberty Resources, that they guaranteed would eliminate customers’
credit card debt if they paid the fee, ranging from a few hundred to
several thousand dollars. If the product was purchased, the customers
received a document claiming that they were relieved from their credit
card debt. The debt elimination product, Liberty Resources claimed,
was based on what they claimed was a “loophole” in the banking laws.
Liberty Resources defrauded 450 victims out of more than $2
million between 2002 and 2006.
“Customers were lulled into believing their debt was taken
care of so they stopped paying creditors,” Lockhart said. “Many who
stopped paying found that their credit histories were destroyed when
they discontinued paying their credit card balances and the card
issuers sued them for payment. Some people had to declare bankruptcy
while others have had to come out of retirement to work off paying the
debt. No one who purchased the program had their debt eliminated. ”
The sentence also requires each man to pay all federal income
taxes owed, plus interest and penalties, on the money they received
from Liberty and elsewhere between 2002 and 2006.
Each of the Wicklines pleaded guilty on July 9, 2008 to one
count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Chad Wickline also
pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. Both men entered pleas
roughly two weeks after their trials began.
Three other company officials also pleaded guilty in
connection with the scheme and have been sentenced.
Lockhart commended the cooperative investigation by IRS agents
and Postal Inspectors, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcia
Harris and Dan Brown, who prosecuted the case.
James McCabe
Feb 27, 2009, 1:27:50 PM2/27/09
to LibertyResou...@googlegroups.com
| Thanks for the update, Matt. --- On Fri, 2/27/09, Matt <mste...@gmail.com> wrote: |
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