Week In Review – Hammond

Hammond, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

PLEAS:

Andrew Bolden, 30,pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.Sentencing has been set for 5/13/14.This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

DISPOSITIONS:

Robert Sanders, 25, of Gary, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Harris et al., was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 15 months imprisonment, $6,636.00 in restitution to be paid joint and several with Willie Harris, and 2 years of supervised release after being found guilty at trial of the felony offense of conspiracy and attempt to commit fraud with identification documents.According to documents filed in this case, the defendants obtained the account and personal information of individuals in over 21 states and fraudulently added their names to the victims’ accounts in an account takeover scheme. The defendants either utilized their own names or utilized aliases with the accounts which had been taken over. They purchased gift cards, Postal money orders, and made numerous retail purchases with the fraudulently obtained credit cards throughout Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Georgia. They also made cash withdrawals on the accounts and utilized the convenience checks associated with the accounts at various financial institutions located in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Throughout the criminal conduct, the defendants would also mail gift cards, Postal money orders, and U.S. currency from Indiana and Wisconsin to Georgia. This case was a result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Joshua Mijares, 34, of Griffith, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 7 months and 18 days imprisonment, time considered served, and 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of re-entry of a deported alien.According to documents filed in this case, law enforcement, responding to information from a tip line that Mijares was an illegal alien, received fingerprint records and other material confirming that Mijares had indeed been deported in 2005.According to criminal history records, Mijares, also known as Jose Lucas, was convicted of aggravated child abuse in Florida in 2002. This case was a result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.