Southern District of Iowa
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Ottumwa Man Is Sentenced to 87 Months Imprisonment for Fraudulent Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – United States District Court Judge John Jarvey sentenced John Francis Holtsinger, age 52, of Ottumwa, Iowa, to 87 months imprisonment on wire fraud and tax evasion charges, announced U.S. Attorney Klinefeldt. Judge Jarvey also ordered the federal sentence to be served consecutive to a five-year sentence Holtsinger recently received on unrelated state charges. Holtsinger also was ordered to pay $948,239.67 in restitution to the victims of his offense, and will have to serve 60 months of supervised release following the completion of his prison term.
In an earlier hearing, Holtsinger admitted to soliciting and receiving more than $1.1 million from investors in the State of Iowa between 2005 and 2012. He represented to the investors that he would put their money into investment accounts; however, he actually used most of it for personal expenses or to pay back investors whose money he had misappropriated earlier.Holtsinger admitted that he ended up exhausting all the funds he received from investors. He then attempted to conceal his fraud by falsely informing the investors that their funds had been frozen as a result of actions taken by state or federal authorities. In reality, the funds were gone.
Holtsinger also admitted during the earlier hearing to attempting to convince investors to lie to law enforcement officers regarding the purpose of the funds they had given him. He instructed them to describe their payments to him as “interest free loans,” when in reality they were investments. Holtsinger also threatened that anyone who cooperated with law enforcement officers would not be repaid.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offense and should have a deterrent effect on others. “These victims thought they were investing their money in a safe place,” he said. “In reality, it was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. I am pleased that Holtsinger will have to spend more than seven years in jail as punishment for defrauding people who considered him to be a friend, and I hope his sentence will convince anyone else who might be tempted to engage in similar conduct not to do so.”
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service, and Iowa Attorney General’s Office, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Former Auto Dealership Office Manager Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal Prison for $1.4 Million EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – Ralph L. Schippers, age 58, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Schippers also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,433,825.37, and was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following release from prison. Sentence was imposed by United States District Judge John A. Jarvey.
Schippers pleaded guilty to the charge on September 17, 2012, and admitted to embezzling more than $1.4 million from his employer, Granger Motors, over a fourteen-year period. Schippers accomplished the fraud by manipulating the dealership’s accounting system and causing monies to be wired or deposited to his personal bank account, making fraudulent journal entries in order to conceal the fraud. Schippers was the dealership’s office manager and, as such, was responsible for managing the dealership’s accounting systems, payroll management, and similar tasks. Schippers admitted that he used some of the embezzled funds to purchase goods and services for himself and his family, including international airline tickets, hotel accommodations, meals at Des Moines-area restaurants, golf-related items, and jewelry.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation–Des Moines Resident Agency, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Pottawattamie County, Iowa Resident Sentenced to 65 Months for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA- On January 16, 2013, William Martin Fiorito, Jr., a 45 year old resident of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Judge John Jarvey to 65 months imprisonment for bank robbery. Judge Jarvey also ordered Fiorito to serve a three year term of supervised release following incarceration. The defendant pled guilty on October 4, 2012, admitting to the commission of bank robbery by entering Peoples National Bank located at 333 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, Iowa on October 11, 2011, where he produced a note demanding money and advising he had a firearm. The teller at the time of the robbery observed what appeared to be the grips of a handgun protruding from the top of Fiorito’s waistband, and the teller provided money to Fiorito as demanded. Fiorito left the bank and entered a second Peoples National Bank located at 1600 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, Iowa, a few minutes later. Fiorito again demanded money, but left the second bank without obtaining any money.
The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs, Iowa, Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Pottawattamie County Attorney=s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Council Bluffs Men Sentenced for Bank BurglaryRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On January 16, 2013, two Council Bluffs men, Robert Glade Edie III (age 35) and Patrick Allen Eggerling (age 19) were sentenced in United States District Court in Council Bluffs, Iowa for the burglary of Farmer’s Bank and Trust in Earling, Iowa, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced Robert Edie to 34 months in prison, to be followed by 24 months of supervised release. The Judge sentenced Patrick Eggerling to 15 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release. The Judge also ordered each defendant to pay a $100.00 special assessment to the Crime Victim Fund, and ordered that both defendants were jointly and severally liable for $10,918.80 in restitution.
Both defendants had previously entered guilty pleas to the bank burglary charge. The charge arose out of an April 12, 2012 incident in which the defendants during the night entered an exterior lobby of the Farmer’s Bank and Trust in Earling, Iowa, attached a log chain to an ATM, and using a stolen motor vehicle, pulled the ATM from its base and drug the ATM from the bank lobby. The defendants then put the ATM in the back of the stolen SUV and fled Earling, Iowa. The ATM contained approximately $6,000.00 when stolen by the defendants. A high speed chase ensued in which Harrison County Sheriff deputies, Pottawattamie County Sheriff deputies, and Iowa State Patrol troopers pursued the fleeing defendants. The chase included defendants driving at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour in the wrong direction on the interstate, until Defendant Edie, driving the vehicle, lost control of the vehicle, with the vehicle becoming airborne, leaving the interstate, crashing through a fence, and coming to rest in a field. Law enforcement personnel captured the defendants hiding in a ravine near the wrecked vehicle, and recovered the ATM, still containing the stolen money. Both defendants were on State of Iowa probation or parole at the time of the bank burglary.
This case was investigated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, and the Iowa State Patrol. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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North Liberty Man Sentenced to Imprisonment and Home Confinement for FraudRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On January 4, 2013, Corey David Hagen, age 46, was sentenced to two months of imprisonment followed by six months of home confinement for committing wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner also sentenced Hagen to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim.
While selling boats for International Marine Distributors, LLC, Hagen directed customers to wire money directly into his personal account instead of into the IMD corporate account. Hagen did not pass these funds on to the company and used them for personal expenditures. Hagen also invested $125,000 in a new business venture and falsely represented that the funds were his personal funds when in actuality the money belonged to IMD.
This case was investigated by the Coralville, Iowa, Police Department, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Man Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Prison for Third Illegal Reentry and Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On January 4, 2013, Osvaldo Montes Olarte, age 36, was sentenced to 77 months of imprisonment for illegally reentering the United States and for failing to register as a sex offender, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also sentenced Olarte to three years of supervised release for the immigration offense and seven years of supervised release for his failure to register as a sex offender.
Olarte illegally entered the United States in 1995. Olarte was convicted of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree in Iowa in 2001 and he was deported in 2003 after his incarceration. As a result of his sexual abuse conviction Olarte was required to register as a sex offender. Olarte reentered the United States and was deported again in both 2006 and 2010. Olarthe thereafter illegally reentered the United States for the third time and returned to Iowa. Olarte knowingly failed to register as a sex offender upon his return to Iowa.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Pella Woman Pleads Guilty to Mail FraudRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – Beverly Joan DeRonde, age 61, of Pella, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in a proceeding before United States Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 5, 2013, at the United States Courthouse in Des Moines before Chief Judge James E. Gritzner.
DeRonde was charged with multiple counts of mail fraud in an indictment filed on August 28, 2012. The indictment alleged that DeRonde obtained approximately $731,950 as a result of these offenses.
In a written plea agreement filed on January 4, 2013, DeRonde admitted that she engaged in a scheme to defraud multiple individuals and obtain money by false pretenses over a seven-year period, from January 2003 through June 2010. DeRonde would ask various friends, relatives, and acquaintances to loan her money, supposedly for surprise birthday or anniversary presents for her husband or to purchase equipment for a boat repair shop. She promised large amounts of interest and often would write a check at the time of the purported loan, instructing the individual loaning the money not to negotiate the check until a later date.
DeRonde admitted that she did not use the loan proceeds as represented but, instead, used the money to purchase antiques, jewelry, Rolex watches, and other consumer items. She also used loan proceeds to repay loans she previously had obtained from other individuals. She admitted to using the United States mails to send letter to various individuals with excuses why she was unable to repay the loans, promising a new date by which she would have the money, and often instructing the individuals to keep the loans a secret from her husband.
DeRonde faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both a fine and imprisonment. Additionally, under the plea agreement, DeRonde has agreed that the sentencing judge should impose an order of restitution for all relevant conduct and to the forfeiture of certain property found at her residence and a storage unit, which was purchased with the proceeds of the mail fraud. DeRonde remains released, under the supervision of the United States Probation Office, pending imposition of sentence.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Eldridge Man Arrested for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On January 2, 2013, James Edward Hall was arrested on a federal criminal complaint for producing child pornography involving a juvenile male victim. Hall had an initial appearance before United States District Judge John A. Jarvey shortly after his arrest. A preliminary hearing and a detention hearing are scheduled in Hall’s case for Friday, January 4, at 2:30 p.m.
Production of child pornography is punishable by at least 15 years imprisonment up to a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a minimum of 5 years supervised release up to a maximum term of supervised release of life, and a $100 special assessment to be paid to the crime victims assistance fund.
As in any criminal case, a criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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