Omaha Man Sentenced for Wire Fraud

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on April 15, 2015, David V. Roberts, age 42 of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced for wire fraud.  The Honorable Lyle E. Strom, Senior United States District Court Judge, sentenced Roberts to the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons for forty-one (41) months.   There is no parole in the federal system.  After his release from prison, Roberts will begin a three, (3), year term of supervised release.  Roberts was also ordered to make restitution in the amount of $91,707.81.

An investigation conducted by the Omaha Police Department and the United States Secret Service determined that from at least June, 2011, and continuing through at least February, 2012, Roberts caused to be transmitted email communications to various individuals located throughout the United States, which emails sought the purchase of material, product or services advertised by victims for sale to the public.  Once a purchase price was agreed upon, a check was mailed to the victims for payment of the advertised material, product, or services for sale.  The checks were not legitimate and were fraudulently created.

Victims were instructed to electronically wire a portion of the funds credited to their account by virtue of the fraudulent check to Roberts within the District of Nebraska.  Victims were provided with Roberts’s name and the location where the funds were to be electronically wired.  Victims were told money needed to be wired to Roberts for purposes of paying defendant to pick-up, ship, or assist with transportation of the material or product advertised and purportedly purchased.  

Once the victims believed the funds from the fraudulent check had been credited to their bank account, victims would electronically wire a portion of the deposited funds to Roberts within the District of Nebraska using the services of Western Union or MoneyGram.  Roberts would travel to Western Union or MoneyGram locations where he would accept the electronically wired payments.

From at least June, 2011, and continuing through at least February, 2012, Roberts personally accepted more than fifty (50) fraudulently obtained electronically wired monetary payments from victims located outside the District of Nebraska in the total amount of $91,707.81.

The case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and United States Secret Service.