The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on August 6, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, CHRISTOPHER ANDREW LICH, a 31-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. LICH was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 120 months

Special Assessment: $200

Forfeiture: car, pickup, motorcycles, $3,095 cash

Supervised Release: 8 years

LICH was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession with the intent to distribute over 100 kilograms of marijuana, money laundering, and admitted to a forfeiture allegation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora stated the government would have proved at trial the following:

From early 2006 up to and including December 22, 2011, LICH possessed with the intent to distribute over 100 kilograms of marijuana in Billings. LICH received large multi-pound loads of marijuana for redistribution during this time period.

On April 28, 2010, LICH conducted a financial transaction affecting interstate commerce by depositing drug proceeds (cash) into a credit union and then wrote a check on the account to another financial institution to make one of many credit card payments.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LICH will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LICH does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

 

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