Federal Grand Jury Indicts Huntsville Police Officer on Bribery Charges
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury has indicted a Huntsville police officer in connection with a conspiracy to fix cocaine trafficking charges against an individual arrested by another Huntsville officer, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr. and Huntsville Police Chief Lewis Morris.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Lewis Bernard Hall, 45, of Meridianville, Ala., with conspiracy, bribery, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to investigators. According to the charges, Hall conspired with someone identified in the indictment as “Individual B” to pay a fellow police officer $5,000 if that officer would claim his July 29 vehicle search that resulted in drug-trafficking charges against “Individual A” was unlawful, thereby making the criminal case against Individual A go away. The Huntsville officer who conducted the vehicle search and, subsequently, assisted in the investigation of Hall is identified in the indictment as “Cooperating Officer.”
“Our community expects and deserves police officers who will protect citizens and uphold the law, not tarnish their badge and work to protect criminals,” Vance said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes public corruption cases to punish those who violate the law and the public trust and to reinforce the need and expectation of integrity in government and police service.”
“Public corruption is the FBI’s number one criminal priority for a reason,” Schwein said. “It tears at the fabric of our democracy and works to undermine the public’s trust and confidence in the government. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate violations of that trust committed by any public official, regardless of position.”
“The Huntsville Police Department contacted the FBI as soon as we learned of possible corruption and we assisted the FBI in its investigation,” Morris said. “I want to assure the public that this indictment addresses the actions of one police officer, and the Huntsville department will diligently address any other issues that might come to our attention. We value the working relationship we enjoy with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and appreciate their attention to this case.”
According to the indictment’s conspiracy count, on July 31, Hall and Individual B discussed offering the Cooperating Officer a bribe to tell other law enforcement officers that his search of Individual A’s vehicle, which uncovered about three ounces of cocaine, was unlawful. Hall offered the bribe to the Cooperating Officer on July 31, paid him $1,000 on Aug. 12, and had two follow-up conversations in November about what the officer was supposed to say when asked about the search of Individual A’s vehicle, the indictment says.
The bribery count charges Hall with corruptly offering the bribe to an agent of the City of Huntsville and its police department, which received more than $10,000 in federal benefits within one year, to influence the Cooperating Officer in how he reported the July 29 vehicle search.
The obstruction of justice count charges Hall with offering the bribe with the intent to delay or prevent the reporting of a felony or possible felony offense and the violation of conditions of supervised release by Individual A.
The false statement count charges Hall with knowingly making a false statement to an FBI agent on Dec. 8, saying he did not give money to the Cooperating Officer in connection with that officer’s reporting of his search of Individual A’s vehicle.
The maximum penalty for both the conspiracy and the false statement charges is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the bribery count is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum for the obstruction count is 20 years in prison and a $250,000.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney George A. Martin Jr. is prosecuting the case.
U.S. Attorney Charges Hoover Man for Ponzi Scheme that Bilked Millions from Investors
BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors have charged a Hoover man with fraud and money laundering in connection with an illegal Ponzi scheme that caused investors to lose more than $3 million, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr., Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph P. Borg and Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Bryan W. Anderson, 40, with one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and securities fraud. The office filed the charges in U.S. District Court, along with a plea agreement in which Anderson acknowledges the charges and agrees to plead guilty to them. As part of his plea agreement, Anderson also agrees to pay restitution of about $3.1 million to victim investors. He also agrees to forfeit that same amount to the government, as proceeds of illegal activity, along with another $368,000, which is the amount cited in the money laundering charge.
“For years this defendant lied about investment options, risks and potential returns so that unwitting investors would continue to put their hard-earned money into his fraudulent scheme,” Vance said. “When his Ponzi scheme collapsed, as they always do, the people who trusted him lost millions. I applaud the hard work of the FBI, Alabama Securities Commission and Hoover Police Department, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Patton Meadows, which led to the prosecution of this case.”
“This case is a classic Ponzi scheme, as Anderson used false promises and fake returns to steal millions of dollars from his victims,” Schwein said. “Consumers looking to invest are encouraged to review www.investor.gov, which helps investors recognize scams and avoid fraud. The public can be assured that the FBI will continue to use our resources and work closely with our partners to expose perpetrators and vindicate the victims of complex financial frauds.”
“The Alabama Securities Commission is gratified to see justice imposed for the crimes that Bryan Anderson committed against innocent citizens of Alabama and other states; of course, no punishment can take away the loss and hurt to the investors who were victimized,” Borg said. “We are grateful and want to thank the Hoover Police Department, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, in addition to the ASC staff, for successfully partnering together to ensure justice was served in this case. The strong law enforcement response to this crime should serve as notice to other scammers out there that they should stay out of Alabama or expect prosecution and imprisonment.”
“I am very pleased with our department’s response in this case,” Derzis said. “After taking the initial report, Hoover investigators realized the extent of the fraud and contacted the Alabama Securities and Exchange Commission, along with the FBI. With these agencies working together, we were able to obtain Mr. Anderson’s agreement to plead guilty to his crimes and to repay the victims.”
According to the government’s charging information and its plea agreement with Anderson, he conducted his investment scheme as follows between 2009 and May 30, 2014:
During most of that time, Anderson was a registered financial broker working, first, with MetLife Securities, from October 1998 to February 2012, then with Pruco Securities, from February 2012 to Sept. 13, 2012, when Pruco terminated his employment.
As part of his scheme to defraud investors, he solicited them to invest in stock options that he said employed various trading strategies. The stock options he described were not registered securities, and Anderson was not authorized to solicit investor money for the funds.
Anderson also offered investments in a company he owned, 360 Properties. Beginning about 2009, Anderson falsely represented to certain 360 Properties investors that their returns would come from leased property income, when there were no leased properties. Some of the investors believed the 360 Properties investments were affiliated with MetLife, and Anderson did nothing to correct that false belief.
Between January 2009 and January 2014, Anderson’s false investment promises caused about 18 individual and family investors to deliver more than $8.4 million to Anderson, which he deposited into an account he and his wife held at BancorpSouth, a bank based in Tupelo, Miss. When Anderson’s investment scheme collapsed in May 2014, about 12 investors lost about $3.1 million.
Anderson was operating a Ponzi scheme with investor funds, paying returns to existing investors with money from new investors, as well as paying personal expenses. He transferred investor money from one of his and his wife’s bank accounts to another, making only a small percentage of the investments he had promised investors.
The wire fraud count charges that Anderson caused an investor, identified in court documents by the initials K.C., to wire transfer $571,378 from the investor’s Wells Fargo bank account to Anderson’s BancorpSouth account in the name of 360 Properties on Jan. 15, 2014.
The money laundering count charges that Anderson took $368,000 of the $571,378 received from K.C. and on Jan. 15 transferred it by wire to a second BancorpSouth account. According to the charge, the $571,378 was “criminally derived property” obtained through wire fraud. It is a violation of federal law to engage in a monetary transaction involving money or property worth more than $10,000 that was obtained through a criminal act.
The securities fraud count charges that Anderson, on Aug. 20, 2013, fraudulently obtained $100,000 from an investor, identified by the initials T.M., by falsely representing that he would invest the money in a specific type of hedge fund. T.M. wired the money from an account at Bryant Bank to one of Anderson’s BankcorpSouth accounts and Anderson took the money and used it for non-investment purposes.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the money laundering charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum penalty for the securities fraud charge is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The FBI, ASC and the Hoover Police Department investigated the case, which Meadows is prosecuting.
Homicide Investigation
The Birmingham Police Department reports that detectives are conducting a homicide investigation. The incident occurred on Saturday, December 27, 2014, in the 6600 Block of Avenue N in Ensley.
On Saturday, December 27, 2014, around 7:45 p.m., West Precinct officers were dispatched to the listed location on a shots fired call. Upon arrival, officers were told that someone was shooting near this location. Several minutes later three victims showed up at Princeton Hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of the victims were then transported to UAB Hospital.
On Sunday, December 28, 2014, around 1:45 a.m., police were informed by the medical staff at UAB Hospital that the victim had succumbed to his injuries. Detectives are investigating the death as a homicide.
If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the case, they are encouraged to contact the B.P.D. Homicide Unit at 254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 254-7777.
Wall of Shame Robbery
Marcus Owens, 29 years old is charged with Robbery and Attempted Murder of a Police Officer. As officers answered a robbery call at the Family Dollar located at 5401 1st Avenue North on Sunday, December 28, 2014, Owens fired at them. Each charge has a $500,000 bond. Owens is in the Jefferson County Jail.
