Illinois Man Sentenced on Fraud Charges

St. Louis, MO – JASON CRIPE, Windsor, Illinois, was sentenced to a total of five years in prison for his fraud scheme that spanned two years and two states and ended in a confrontation with federal law enforcement agents. 

In October, Cripe pled guilty to wire fraud and to assaulting an officer.  His sentence for the fraud charge was 48 months and his sentence for the assault was 12 months, which represents the statutory maximum.  United States District Judge Ronnie White, before whom Cripe appeared this morning, ordered those sentences to run consecutively, for a total of 60 months.

According to his plea agreement, Cripe defrauded two victims of $7,800 in February 2015 in connection with the purported sale of construction equipment by taking deposits for equipment he did not own.  Subsequent investigation revealed Cripe had engaged in similar conduct on at least eleven different occasions during 2014 and 2015 in Missouri and Illinois.  In total, the parties agreed that Cripe collected more than $58,000 through these fraud schemes.  After Cripe was charged for this fraud scheme, Cripe remained at large for a time until federal agents tracked him to a St. Louis County gas station.  While apprehending Cripe, he assaulted the officers, causing minor injuries, before eventually being taken into custody.

The United States Secret Service investigated the case, which was resolved with the help of prosecutors in Warren County (MO), Monroe County (IL), Fayette County (IL), Christian County (IL) and Shelby County (IL).  Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.