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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Oct. 8, 2009
INDICTMENT: FDIC EMPLOYEE LEAKED CONFIDENTIAL DATA
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Merikay Wootton, 63, Lenexa, Kan., is charged with unlawfully disclosing confidential information while she was an employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The crime is alleged to have occurred from Aug. 28, 2008, through July 10, 2009, in Overland Park, Kan.
According to the indictment, Wootton was working as a loan officer for Columbian Bank and Trust of Overland Park, Kan., when the bank failed and was placed in receivership with the FDIC on Aug. 22, 2008. Wootton was then employed by the FDIC’s Division of Resolutions and Receiverships to assist with bank closing activities at Columbian Bank and Trust. Her duties included assisting in selling properties with loans that were in default, which gave her access to information concerning the least amount of money the FDIC would accept to sell the properties. She also had access to confidential financial records of the FDIC and personal information, including borrowers’ income tax returns.
While working as an Asset Servicing Technician for FDIC, she disclosed confidential information from the FDIC, as well as the identity and amount of income of a person with outstanding loans at Columbian. She also unlawfully disclosed the borrower’s tax return.
“This indictment demonstrates the commitment of the United States Attorneys Office and the FDIC Office of Inspector General to protect the integrity of banking system information,” said Jon T. Rymer, FDIC Inspector General. “The indictment sends an important message to those who would attempt to unlawfully disclose confidential banking information and that such disclosures will not be tolerated and violators will be prosecuted.”
If convicted, Wootton faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a fine up to $250,000. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A federal grand jury meeting in Kansas City, Kan., also returned the following indictments:
Isha Jackson, 34, Olathe, Kan., is charged with one count of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery. According to the indictment, on Sept. 21, 2009, Jackson robbed Wachovia Bank at 12000 West 95th in Lenexa, Kan. During the robbery, he brandished a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 7 years, consecutive to any other sentence, and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000 on the firearms charge; and a maximum penalty of 25 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the bank robbery charge. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lenexa Police Department worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton is prosecuting.
Ronald Schulz, 53, Rantoul, Kan., is charged with two counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2009 in Johnson County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of producing child pornography, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession charge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
Timothy Wyrick, 32, Bonner Springs, Kan., is charged with five counts of communicating threats by interstate commerce. The crimes are alleged to have occurred May 26, 2009, June 22, 2009, Aug. 7, 2009, Aug. 10, 2009, and Sept. 4, 2009, in northeast Kansas.
A criminal complaint filed Sept. 16, 2009, in U.S. District Court in Kansas City charged Wyrick with making a series of threatening calls to a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper. According to that complaint, Wyrick was working for the Kansas Highway Patrol as a motorist assistance technician when he made threatening calls to a trooper. In one of the calls, Wyrick said he had picked out a place to bury the trooper.
If convicted, Wyrick faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.
Quinton S. Wilson, 31, Lawrence, Kan., Eric D. Crump, 33, and Randy G. Johnson, I, are charged with federal firearms violations. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in June 2009 in Lawrence, Kan.
In the superseding indictment:
Wilson is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.
Crump is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.
Johnson is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Unlawful possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lawrence Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Andre Randle, 31, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred July 25, 2009, in Johnson County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.
Casey Kincaid, 21, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Sept. 12, 2009, in Kansas City, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Robert A. Sanford, 34, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred June 15, 2009, in Kansas City, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Kevin Johnson, 60, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Sept. 18, 2009, in Atchison County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atchison Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
Jose Nicolas Arriaza-Veira, 28, Leavenworth, Kan., is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Aug. 19, 2009, near Leavenworth, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
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