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Press Release

Lincoln and Council Bluffs Women Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nebraska

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Tempest Amerson, 24, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Rosland Starks, 45, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, were sentenced on August 21, in Lincoln, Nebraska, by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Amerson received a sentence of 4 months in prison, and Starks received a sentence of 20 months in prison for their roles in the conspiracy.  After their release from prison, each will be required to serve a 3 year term of supervised release, and to pay restitution in the amount of $13,671.

The conspiracy which led to the convictions of Amerson and Starks stems from their participation in a scheme which defrauded victims beginning on or about May 2011, and continuing through at least November 2013.  As a part of the scheme, co-conspirators would contact elderly individuals in multiple states by phone, and convince the victims to wire money to another member of the conspiracy.  Amerson and Starks would receive the wired monies or transfer the monies to another member of the conspiracy after keeping a portion for themselves.  To convince the victim to wire money, the caller would purport to be a family relative, or person acting on a relative’s behalf, who needed money immediately due to fabricated emergencies such as motor vehicle accidents or arrests.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, United States Department of Homeland Security.

Updated January 29, 2015