Federal Grand Jury Indictments

United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that a federal grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina, returned Indictments against the following:

Georgia Man Indicted for Extortion and Pretending to be an Attorney.   Phillip Asher, a/k/a “Phillip Reynolds,” of Douglasville, Georgia, was charged in a 7-count indictment that related to his attempting to defraud and extort money from the owner of a Columbia restaurant by pretending to be an attorney. The indictment charges that Asher demanded amounts of $250,000 and $300,000, threatening legal action, economic harm, and immigration consequences if the money was not paid.

Asher is charged with Hobbs Act extortion, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1951, wire fraud, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1343, and traveling in interstate commerce to execute a fraud, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §2314.  The maximum penalty Asher could receive is 20 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the extortion and wire fraud counts and 10 years imprisonment and $250,000 for the traveling in interstate commerce to commit fraud.  The case was investigated by agents of the FBI and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorneys Jim May and Alyssa Richardson of the Columbia office for prosecution.

The United States Attorney stated that all charges in these indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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