Idaho Prison Inmate Sentenced For Mail Fraud

BOISE – Today, in United States District Court, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, sentenced Mark Anthony Brown, 53, an inmate at the Idaho Correctional Center, on two counts of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge Winmill sentenced Brown to 33 months of prison, three years of supervised release following his confinement, restitution of $59,679.92 and forfeiture of the same amount, which was previously seized from Brown’s accounts. The court also ordered forfeiture of Brown’s typewriter, which he used to commit the crime. Judge Winmill also ordered the prison portion of the sentence to run consecutively to the state prison sentence that Brown is currently serving. Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on March 12, 2013. He pleaded guilty to the charges on August 22, 2013.

According to court documents, from September 2007 to February 28, 2013, Brown devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain money from various class action lawsuits and large-scale bankruptcies. According to the plea agreement, Brown submitted numerous claim forms in which he falsely represented himself as a class member or creditor. He then mailed the claim forms to administrators of the settlements in order to receive settlement proceeds, and deposited the proceeds he received into his Idaho Department of Correction trust account, and into several different investment accounts, all through the use of the United States Mail. The plea agreement details 22 different settlements and litigations which Brown defrauded, ranging from $20 to $29,528.50.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with the cooperation of the Idaho Department of Correction.