Press Release
Bucks County Judge, Lower Southampton Director Of Public Safety, And Pennsylvania Deputy Constable Charged With Conspiracy And Money Laundering
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
John I. Waltman, 59, of Trevose, Pennsylvania, Robert P. Hoopes, 69, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and Bernard T. Rafferty, 62, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania were charged in an Indictment,[1] unsealed earlier today, with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
Waltman has been a Magisterial District Judge in Bucks County, Pennsylvania since 2011. Hoopes has been the Director of Public Safety in Lower Southampton, Pennsylvania since February 2016. In this position, Hoopes has authority over all police, fire, and emergency operations in the township. Hoopes previously operated a legal practice in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Rafferty has been a Deputy Constable in Bucks County since 1998. Rafferty controls Raff’s Consulting LLC, a corporation registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State on May 30, 2011.
According to the Indictment, from June 2015 to November 2016, Waltman, Hoopes, and Rafferty conspired to launder funds represented to be proceeds from health care fraud, illegal drug trafficking, and bank fraud. Moreover, from June 2016 to August 2016, Waltman, Hoopes, and Rafferty laundered $400,000 in cash, represented to be proceeds from health care fraud and illegal drug trafficking, and took money laundering fees totaling $80,000 in cash.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum possible sentence of 80 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, and a $400 special assessment.
[1] An Indictment, Information, or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Updated December 16, 2016
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