A man who made a false statement to a U.S. Postal Inspector conducting a fraud investigation was convicted by a jury today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Raymond Cortez, age 64, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of making a material false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States. The verdict was returned this morning following about 40 minutes of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that, on November 20, 2007, Cortez lied to a U.S. Postal Inspector during an interview. The Postal Inspector asked Cortez whether his vehicle, a black Hummer, was involved in a chase of a young man the month prior on First Avenue in Cedar Rapids. Cortez falsely denied knowing anything about the chase. The evidence at trial showed Cortez was the driver of the Hummer during the chase. The chase was being investigated because the occupants of the Hummer were attempting to retrieve a $3,323.00 federal student aid check from the young man. Some of the occupants of the Hummer had fraudulently obtained the check as part of a scheme to defraud the United States out of student loan funds.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Cortez remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Cortez faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Deegan and was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Department of Education.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 12-74 LRR.

 

 

Return to Top