Former Bail Bondsman Sentenced To 49 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiring With Drug Counselor To Obstruct Justice While On Supervised Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                                 at (410) 209-4885

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced, Anthony Evans Owings Seen, a/k/a “Tony”, age 31, of Glen Burnie, Maryland to 37 months in prison, followed by three of supervised release, for conspiring to obstruct of justice and obstruction of justice, in connection with concealing violations by both pretrial and supervised release defendants from United States Probation and Pretrial Services and Federal Judges.  Seen was also sentenced to 12 months and a day for committing his crimes while on federal supervised release.    

Co-conspirator Jennifer Hamersky, a/k/a Jennifer Maroney a/k/a Jennifer Hurt, age 33, of Severn, Maryland previously plead guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2017 at 4:00 p.m.  

The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; William F. Henry, Chief, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, District of Maryland; and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office.

According to Seen’s plea agreement, at the time of the conspiracy to obstruct justice, Seen was on supervised release in an unrelated case in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 Kilograms of Marijuana.  While on supervised release, Seen was under the supervision of the United States Probation and Pretrial Services (“USPO”).  Seen’s conditions of supervised release included that he was not permitted to possess or use controlled substances as well as act as a bail bondsman or in the bail bond industry.  Seen was previously a licensed bail bondsman by the state of Maryland’s Insurance Administration. 

Co-conspirator Hamersky, a Clinical Professional Addictions Counselor, licensed by the State of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was also a contractor who provided services for USPO.  Specifically, Hamersky worked with defendants in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, including mental health and substance abuse counseling, and urinalysis testing.

Person A, who was on pretrial release under the supervision of USPO, met Hamersky in September 2015, when she conducted an initial substance abuse screening as part of his pretrial release supervision.  Hamersky recommended, and USPO concurred, that Person A attend individual and group counseling sessions and submit to random urinalysis testing.

Person S, was a resident of Maryland, and on supervised release under the supervision of USPO for conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 Kilograms or More of Marijuana.  Person S, as part of his supervised release conditions, was ordered by a United States Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland not to possess or use controlled substances.

Hamersky served as Person A’s pretrial release substance abuse and mental health counselor from September 2015 through February 2016, and again from August 2016 through February 2017, with a break due to Person A’s incarceration.  Hamersky was responsible for communicating Person A’s compliance with pretrial release conditions regarding potential violations involving counseling and urinalysis testing to USPO.  As part of her duties as a substance abuse counselor Hamersky also had access to Person S’s urinalysis testing schedule. 

Plea documents show that Seen and Hamersky conspired to obstruction of justice in an effort to conceal from USPO officers and U.S. Magistrate and District Court Judges, Person A’s violations of his conditions of release.  The violations include use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances by both Person A and Person S; failure to appear for urinalysis testing by Person A; and failure to appear for counseling sessions by Person A.

From September 2016 through February 2017, Seen conspired with Hamersky to prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer and U.S. Magistrate and District Court Judges information relating to violations of Person A’s conditions of release.  Seen and Hamersky also used cocaine, oxycodone and Methylenedioxy-Methamphetamine otherwise known as MDMA while Defendant Seen was on federal supervised release.  Hamersky also used narcotic drugs, including using oxycodone, with Person A while Person A was on federal pretrial release.   

For example, in November of 2016, Seen met with Person A at Seen’s bail bonds shop in Glen Burnie, Maryland so that Person A could sign his USPO November 2016 and December 2016 reports reflecting Person A’s attendance at urinalysis testing and counseling sessions.  At the time Seen knew that Person A had not attended urinalysis testing and counseling sessions.  Seen then provided Person A’s reports to Hamersky who submitted them to USPO.  Following his meeting with Person A and in an effort to conceal Seen and Hamersky’s conspiracy, Seen sent a text message to Person A asking Person A to delete any text messages between Seen and Person A and any texts messages between Hamersky and Person A. 

Also in November 2016, Person S asked Seen for information about his urinalysis testing schedule so that Person S could consume controlled substances and avoid detection by USPO.  Seen then contacted Hamersky who informed Seen that Person S would not have an upcoming urinalysis test.  Seen then provided this urinalysis testing information to Person S.

In December 2016, after learning that the Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating Seen and Hamersky’s conduct, Seen sent a text message to Hamersky stating, “I just want to be safe, I don’t want him telling the Feds I’m meeting him to get papers signed and get violated.”  Seen then described Person A as a “rat” and Seen then told Hamersky to go onto a federal court website to see if Person A was meeting with law enforcement representatives.  

Finally, in January 2017, Person A missed a urinalysis test and contacted Seen for help in covering-up the missed test.  Seen then contacted Hamersky and stated, “[h]e wants u to fix (sic) a drug test I told him 500$, nah I’m kidding he said he give u 500$, I said I’ll ask her but s-it I mean it’s up to you.”  While discussing whether to help Person A, Hamersky texted Seen and explained that in, “[r]eality is it’s no big deal [f]or me to call and do it.  It’s just after all the other stuff.  But he knows I can do it.”  Seen then replied, “Well I’ll tell (sic) him when money in my hand u do it.”  Hamersky replied “[o]k” and then left a voicemail message for Person A’s USPO agent stating, “I’ve got no missed urines for [Person A], or anything like that, and all his urines have come through as negative so he has been compliant and everything been going ok.”  Hamersky then told Seen that she left a voicemail message for Person A’s USPO officer stating that Person A had not missed his urinalysis test.  After Person A learned that Hamersky had covered-up his missed urinalysis test he sent her a text message stating, “[t]hank you so much.  If u want that money let me know I was being serious u saved my a-- today.”  Hamersky then forwarded this text message to Seen who replied to Hamersky, “I’m call him and tell him I want that money tomorrow.”

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, USPO, and DEA for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Phil Selden and Rachel Yasser, who prosecuted the case.