United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500

Hammond, Indiana 46320

Hammond                                                 South Bend                                               Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         CONTACT: Mary L. Hatton

July 9, 2010                                                                                         PHONE: (219) 937-5500

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/                                                                    Fax: (219) 852-2770 

ACTIVITY IN FEDERAL COURT - HAMMOND

Hammond, Indiana—The United States Attorney's Office announced the following activity in federal court:

Lazane Hasan, 42 (9/4/67), of Harvey, Illinois, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and 3 counts of misuse of a social security number. Hasan obtained fraudulent State of Indiana identification cards (“ID”) in her name as a resident of the State of Indiana when in fact she did not reside in the State of Indiana; and obtained fraudulent State of Indiana identification cards (“ID”) in the name of others using fraudulently obtained social security account numbers and State of Illinois birth documents. Hasan wrote counterfeit Centier Bank checks utilizing the names to businesses and retailers. This case was investigated by the Unites States Postal Inspection Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Ernest Thomas, 24, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior Judge Rudy Lozano to 24 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thomas was previously convicted of possession of cocaine. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Hammond Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang Adiga.

Albert Unger, Jr., 63, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior Judge James Moody to 27 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to an information charging him with theft of government property. Unger went to various Branch Post Offices throughout the Northern District of Indiana and purchased stamps with checks drawn on closed bank accounts. He would then resell the stamps. Unger will pay total restitution of $74,866.85 to the victims as follows: $72,272.23 to the U.S. Postal Service and $2,594.62 to Wells Fargo Bank. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Las Vegas Police Department and the U.S. Postal Service, Nevada. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Jaime Montelongo, 30, of Mission, Texas, was sentenced by Senior Judge James Moody to 37 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The specific sentence in each case to be imposed upon conviction will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.