$498,233.80 Ordered Paid To Crime Victim Fund More Than $30,000 In Stamps Presented To Non-Profit Organizations
United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker announces that more than $30,000.00 of usable 33 cent postage stamps are being presented to selected recipients on Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 1:00 p.m., during Iowa’s celebration of the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, across the street from the south side of the Iowa State Capitol Building, near the Purple Heart Memorial. (In the event of rain the even will be held in the west wing of the State Capital Rotunda.) The stamps are part of the forfeited property from the case of United States of America v. James Hance. Hance was, following a jury trial in Federal Court in Des Moines, convicted on September 16, 2005, of fraud-related charges resulting from his chain-letter pyramid scheme. Hance was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to four specific victims. In addition, Hance was ordered to pay $498,233.80 to the Crime Victim Find.
In July of 1999, in the course of this investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service executed a search warrant at Hance’s residence. Included within the voluminous materials seized during the search warrant were more than 30,000 stamps. Evidence at trial established that as a part of his fraud scheme, Hance required each of his victims to send him a $20-25 cash payment and 10 postage stamps. There were approximately 24,000 victims of Hance’s fraud scheme.
In the course of the disposition of forfeited property from this case, it was determined that while the seized stamps had face value, they had no resale value. Rather than simply destroying the stamps, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa aggressively pursued with the Federal Court the option of donating the stamps to non-profit agencies which serve victims of crime. U. S. District Court Judge James E. Gritzner ordered the Victim-Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office to take possession of the stamps and donate them to various non-profit crime victim organizations for official use.
In furtherance of this Order, the United States Attorney published an application for free postage stamps. The main selection criteria for awarding the stamps were: (1) the agency applying for stamps is an agency working in service of victims of crime; and (2) a bona fide victim-related use would be made of the stamps by the agency in the course of the agency’s official business, and (3) the agency is a non-profit organization. The agencies selected to receive the stamps tend to serve a multiple county area and have a specifically demonstrated need for postage.
Twenty six (26) of the twenty eight (28) agencies selected to receive the stamps are Iowa agencies, which include: CAASA (NW Iowa), Catholic Charities (Council Bluffs), Cedar Valley Friends of the Family (NE Iowa), Concerned Citizens for Justice (Des Moines), Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (Sioux City), Crisis Center and Women’s Shelter (Ottumwa), Crisis Intervention & Advocacy Center (Oskaloosa), Crisis Intervention Service (Mason City), Crisis Intervention Services (Oskaloosa), Domestic /Sexual Assault Outreach Center (Ft. Dodge), Domestic Violence Intervention Program (Iowa City), Dubuque Community Domestic Violence Program (Dubuque), Family Crisis (Atlantic), Family Crisis Centers of NW Iowa (NW Iowa), Family Resources (Davenport), IOVA (Iowa), Polk County Crisis Advocacy Services (Polk County), Rape Victim Advocacy Program (Iowa), Regional Child Protection (Des Moines), Riverview Center, Inc. (Dubuque, Delaware and Buchanan Counties), Sexual Assault/Domestic Abuse Advocacy Program (Muscatine), Survivor’s Program (Cedar Rapids), United Action for Youth (Iowa City), Waypoint (Cedar Rapids), YWCA-Clinton (Clinton), and YWCA Violence Shelter & Sexual Assault Center (Burlington). Two (2) of the agencies selected are from states other than Iowa: Mitchell Co. SafePlace (Mitchell Co., NC), and Refugee Services of Texas-Victims of Trafficking (Austin, TX).
The stamps will be put to a variety of official, victim-related uses. Among the declared uses for the stamps are: to mail materials between outreach offices; for correspondence by victims; for fund-raising by some of the non-profit victim service agencies; for victim referrals; for grants; for information to promote the victim-related services; to correspond with law enforcement and other service providers; to send thank-you notes to those volunteering assistance to the service provider; and for follow up with clients.