British National Sentenced to 8 Months for Failure to Surrender for Service of Sentence

            CONCORD – Paul Ubsdell (a/k/a Paul Upstall and Paul James Kanes), 49, of the United Kingdom, was sentenced today to 8 months in federal prison and a fine of $10,000 for failure to surrender for service of sentence, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, Ubsdell was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison in 2013 following his guilty plea to wire fraud conspiracy. At the defendant’s request, the sentencing court granted his request to return to the United Kingdom and settle his affairs before reporting to the designated Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility to serve his sentence.  Rather than face punishment for his crime, Ubsdell later changed his legal name, and he remained in the United Kingdom for 8 years until his extradition. Ubsdell was taken into custody on August 25, 2021, on the United States’ extradition request, and he was taken into U.S. custody on May 18, 2022.

            Ubsdell’s sentence for failure to surrender for service of sentence will run consecutive to the 18 months in prison that was imposed in 2013.  

            “This prosecution demonstrates that defendants cannot flee from the United States to escape responsibility for their crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Young.  “Ubsdell violated his promise to surrender to serve his sentence, and instead spent years avoiding the punishment for his crime.  Through hard work and diligence of the U.S. Marshals Service and law enforcement officials in the United Kingdom, Ubsdell was located and extradited back to New Hampshire to face the consequences of his 2013 guilty plea and his flight from justice.  Other criminal defendants should take note that efforts to flee from justice will not succeed.”

             This matter was investigated by the United States Marshals Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in the UK to secure the arrest and extradition of Ubsdell. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cam T. Le.

###