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Department of Justice United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley Western District of Virginia |
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CONTACT: Brian McGinn PHONE: 540-857-2974 FAX: 540-857-2179 EMAIL: Brian.McGinn@usdoj.gov www.usdoj.gov/usao/vaw |
FORMER DEALERSHIP OWNER SENTENCED ON MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES
Shirland Fitzgerald Will Spend 140 Months In Prison
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA -- For years, Shirland Fitzgerald, owner of Fitzgerald Auto Sales in Danville, Va., associated with known drug dealers. He sold them cars, he allowed them to use the backroom of his business for high stakes gambling and he laundered their drug money. It was a combination of all of these things that will keep Fitzgerald in prison for the foreseeable future.
Following a two-week trial in May, Fitzgerald, age 62, was convicted of six counts of conspiracy to launder money. Yesterday, he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, to 140 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release thereafter. He was also ordered to forfeit $1 million, representing the approximate value of the funds he laundered for three large scale trafficking organization over a six-year period.
“In order to produce higher profits for his business, Mr. Fitzgerald associated with individuals he knew sold drugs,” United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said today. “He laundered money, he lied to the Internal Revenue Service and he got caught. Today, justice was served and he was punished for his actions.”
According to evidence presented at trial by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Giorno and United States Department of Justice Trial Attorney for the Tax Division Mitch Bober, between 1998 and 2004, Fitzgerald used his car dealership on Riverside Drive in Danville to foster relationships with known drug dealers who trafficked in the Danville area.
Fitzgerald, in order to increase sales and profits at his car dealership, engaged in a scheme in which the drug dealers could purchase cars from the defendant using money obtained through the sale of illegal drugs. To further the scheme, Fitzgerald would disguise the identity of the true purchasers, create false paperwork and allow the drug dealers to make incremental payments of less than $10,000, avoiding the need to file a Federal 8300 form.
The defendant also structured his personal and business finances in such a way that all deposits totaled less than $10,000. He devised a false receipt system that showed no payments were ever made over $10,000 and created a false and fictitious interest free “financing system” that allowed the drug dealers to pay for vehicles over time.
In addition, Fitzgerald assisted his drug dealer associates in the sale of assets for the purpose of avoiding seizure and forfeiture of those assets by law enforcement.
The defendant’s associates also charged for their roles in the scheme were Fred Rodgers, 35, Khaleel Rodgers, 31, Lenora Rodgers, 52, Teresa Swann Hunt Tyler, 45, Sherika Swann, 29, Dionne Lakesha Hunt, 26, Juanita Rodgers, 49, and Rontae Perkins, 31.
Fred Rodgers pled guilty to two counts of conspiring to launder money and was sentenced to 235 months in prison. The remaining defendants all pled guilty to one count of conspiring to launder money. They were sentenced as follows:
Khaleel Rodgers, 40 months, to run consecutive to a current seven-year state sentence for drug trafficking.
Lenora Rodgers, 37 months
Teresa Swan Hunt Tyler, 24 months
Sherika Swann, 21 months
Dionne Lakesha Hunt, three years probation
Juanita Rodgers, 24 months
Rontae Perkins, 77 months
Fred Rodgers, 235 months
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Internal Revenue System and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Giorno and United States Department of Justice Trial Attorney for the Tax Division Mitch Bober prosecuted the case for the United States.