Western District of Oklahoma
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Former President Pro Tem of Oklahoma Senate Sentenced to Serve Five Years' Probation for BriberyRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Former Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem MICHAEL STEVEN MORGAN, 57, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robin J. Cauthron to serve five years’ probation for bribery, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
"While this was not the sentence for which we advocated, the determination of sentencing in federal court is within the discretion of the Judge,” said U.S. Attorney Coats. “This is one of the most significant public corruption cases in this district in decades. Both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI remain committed as ever to the pursuit of public corruption cases and holding accountable any public officials who abuse their positions for personal gain. I commend the Assistant United States Attorneys and FBI Special Agents for their extraordinary work in this long and complex investigation and prosecution."
The government alleged three different schemes. On March 5, 2012, the federal jury found Morgan guilty of bribery on one scheme, acquitted him on one scheme, and could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third scheme. According to evidence at trial on the scheme in which he was convicted, Morgan, an attorney, accepted payments from a business that owned assisted-living centers, disguised as legal fees, in exchange for favorable treatment in the legislature. Evidence at trial showed that Morgan took twelve $1,000 bribe payments in 2006 and 2007, disguised as legal fees, from Silver Oak Senior Living Center. Evidence showed that Silver Oak had been at odds with the Oklahoma Department of Health, which was attempting to impose regulations on assisted-living facilities. In exchange for the bribe payments, evidence showed that Morgan authored Senate Bill 738, which became law at the end of the 2007 session and helped Silver Oak by lifting some of its regulatory burdens.
In addition to serving five years of probation, Morgan was ordered to forfeit $12,000.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Vicki Zemp Behenna.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
Former Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – CAROLYN DAWSON, of Oklahoma City, has pled guilty to using interstate wire communications to defraud her former employer, American Plant Products, and to evading federal payroll taxes, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Until November of 2011, Dawson worked as the bookkeeper for American Plant Products, an Oklahoma City wholesaler of greenhouse and garden supplies. Her duties included maintaining payroll, preparing payroll tax returns, and paying withheld taxes to the IRS. According to a criminal information filed on December 18, 2012, Dawson defrauded the business by using interstate wire communications to pay personal credit card expenses from a business bank account, without the knowledge of the business or its owners. The information also alleges that she treated these payments as business-related expenses to disguise her embezzlement. These payments took place from January of 2007 until November 25, 2011, when Dawson was terminated.
In a separate count, the information alleges that Dawson willfully evaded federal payroll taxes by failing to file a 2010 payroll tax return for the company, failing to make payroll withholding payments to the IRS, and altering the books and records of American Plant Products to conceal her failure to make withholding payments.
Today, Dawson pled guilty to both counts. In a plea agreement, she agreed to pay $1,194,656.15 in restitution to American Plant Products. She has also agreed to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, including restitution for her failure to pay personal income taxes on the embezzled money. The plea agreement provides that the loss to the IRS is more than $200,000 and less than $1,000,000.
Dawson’s punishment for wire fraud could be as much as twenty years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Her punishment for tax evasion could be as much as five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and an additional $250,000 fine. Sentencing will take place in approximately ninety days.
These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott E. Williams.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.