Criminal Defense Attorney Sentenced to 60 Days of Confinement, Four Years of Probation, 80 Hours of Community Service, and Fined $2,000 for Making False Statements to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a criminal defense attorney, Scott Brettschneider, was sentenced by United States District Judge Carol B. Amon to 60 days of confinement in a community center, 4 years of probation, 80 hours of community service, and fined $2,000 for conspiring to make, and making, a false statement to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP).  Brettschneider was convicted following a five-day jury trial in April 2019 for his role in writing a false letter to the BOP to assist an inmate to gain entry to a substance abuse program and thereby obtain an early release from prison. 

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.

“Brettschneider has now been held accountable for breaking the law he had been sworn to uphold,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office is committed to prosecuting those who defraud federal programs.”  Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the FBI, which led the investigation, and thanked the Queens District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the case.
Brettschneider and two co-defendants agreed to prepare and submit a fraudulent letter to the BOP about the drug treatment history of inmate Richard Marshall - Brettschneider’s client and a source of client referrals.  If successful, their scheme would have resulted in Marshall’s gaining entry to the Residential Drug Abuse Program in prison, and potential early release from custody.  Brettschneider tasked his part-time paralegal, Reginald Shabazz-Muhammad, with the job of writing the fraudulent letter, and co-defendant Charles Gallman acted as the middleman between Marshall and Brettschneider.                      

Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements, and was sentenced on October 6, 2018 to three years’ probation and a fine of $1,500.  Shabazz-Muhammad pleaded guilty to making false statements, and was sentenced on January 30, 2019 to two years’ probation and a fine of $1,000.  Gallman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements and to violating the Travel Act for bribing a witness, and was sentenced on March 20, 2019 to three years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Andrey Spektor, Lindsay K. Gerdes and Margaret Gandy are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

SCOTT BRETTSCHNEIDER (also known as “Mighty Whitey”)
Age:  62
Mint Hill, North Carolina

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty and Were Sentenced:

CHARLES GALLMAN (also known as “T.A.”)
Age:  57
Queens, New York

RICHARD MARSHALL (also known as “Love”)
Age:  57
Charlotte, North Carolina

REGINALD SHABAZZ-MUHAMMAD
Age:  63
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-123 (CBA)