United States v. Coe

71 F. Supp. 2d 894, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15950, 1999 WL 945936
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 14, 1999
DocketNo. 98-CR-20031
StatusPublished

This text of 71 F. Supp. 2d 894 (United States v. Coe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Coe, 71 F. Supp. 2d 894, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15950, 1999 WL 945936 (C.D. Ill. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER

McCUSKEY, District Judge.

On May 5, 1999, Defendants, George A. Coe, Jr., and David T. Beasley, each pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341), one count of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and one count of IRS impersonation (18 U.S.C. § 912). On May 6, 1999, Defendant Jeffrey “J.J.” Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and one count of IRS impersonation (18 U.S.C. § 912). This matter is now before the court for sentencing.

Comprehensive presentence investigation reports were prepared for all three Defendants. The presentence investigation reports listed 65 victims of Defendants’ telemarketing scheme. Most of the victims listed were elderly people. The list showed that 17 of the victims provided funds or were contacted on more than one occasion. In particular, the reports show that Edward Almquist wired money on six occasions. The wire transfers from Alm-quist totaled $8,775. Also, Genrose Utsch sent 14 wires of funds totaling $34,480. The reports show that the total amount of funds fraudulently obtained by Defendants was $171,139.22.

Defendants, through their attorneys, filed various objections to the presentence investigation reports. On September 17, 1999, the Government filed a Motion for Two-Part Adjustment for Targeting Vulnerable Victims and for Upward Departure under the SCAMS Act (# 114). In addition, on September 17, 1999, Coe filed a Commentary on Sentencing Factors (# 115) and also filed a Supplement to his Sentencing Commentary (# 119) on September 23, 1999. On September 23, 1999, Thomas filed a Supplement to Commentary on Pre-Sentence Report (# 125).

A sentencing hearing was held on September 23, 1999, and October 4, 1999. At the hearing, Erica Collins testified that she allowed Defendants Coe and Thomas to use her home in December 1995 while she was in Hawaii. She later received a telephone bill which included charges for numerous long distance telephone calls which she did not make. Many of the calls on the telephone bill were made while she was in Hawaii. This telephone bill, which was admitted into evidence, showed that 34 calls were made to Edward Almquist.

Also, Gary Bacon, an Inspector with the IRS, Dana S. Kimbrough, a Postal Inspector, and Mark Drollinger, formerly a Vermilion County sheriffs deputy, testified regarding the criminal activities of Defendants. Bacon testified that Almquist was approximately 90 years old at the time he sent money after being contacted by Defendants. He further testified that Lucille Durward, who was 76 at the time, sent money three times. She sent $3,000 on two occasions and, when contacted the third time and asked for another $3,000, said she did not have that much money. She was asked how much she had and then sent another $700. Bacon also testified that Helen Blodgett, age 80, sent money on two occasions. Kimbrough testified regarding several of the elderly victims of Defendants’ telemarketing scheme including Aurelia Well, age 80 at the time, who sent money at least twice. Kim-brough testified that the lead sheets ob[897]*897tained by Defendants did not list the ages of the persons listed, but included persons who had a history of being responsive to being called. Drollinger testified that Genrose Utsch was 71 years old when she was victimized by Defendants. He stated that she wired money 14 times in the total amount of approximately $34,000. Drol-linger testified that Utsch continued to wire money even after she talked to investigators and agreed to record telephone calls made to her. Drollinger also testified that a witness identified the voice of Thomas on a tape recording of a telephone call to Utsch. Drollinger further testified regarding four other victims of Defendants’ telemarketing scheme.

In addition, Bacon and Kimbrough testified regarding interviews with Defendants on December 12, 1997. They testified that Defendants admitted targeting older people in their scheme. When questioned by defense counsel regarding the actual statements made by Defendants, both Bacon and Kimbrough produced the handwritten notes they had taken at the time of the interviews. These notes were admitted into evidence as Court exhibits 1 through 6. According to Bacon’s notes: (1) Coe indicated that most leads were elderly men and women and that they would normally target the elderly; (2) Beasley said that 80-85% of their victims were elderly because the elderly were “more vulnerable” and that Coe used libraries to secure leads and targeted names associated with elderly people; and (3) Thomas admitted that he knew he was robbing people and called older people. According to Kimbrough’s notes: (1) Coe said that most leads were old people and that most of the people who sent money were elderly; (2) Beasley said that all of them had called Genrose Utsch, that most of their leads were elderly, that 85% of the people he called were elderly because they were more vulnerable, and that Coe and Thomas went to the library to get names and picked out names that sounded old; and (3) Thomas said that he called elderly people. In short, the notes supported the testimony of Bacon and Kimbrough that Defendants admitted their participation in the scheme and admitted that they targeted elderly people.

Following the testimony of the Government’s witnesses, this court specifically found all of the witnesses to be credible.

I. OBJECTIONS

On October 4, 1999, at the sentencing hearing, this court ruled on all of Defendants’ objections to the presentence investigation reports. These rulings are included in the judgment orders entered for each Defendant. This court wants to emphasize that it has overruled all of the Defendants’ objections to the probation officer’s statements that Defendants targeted the elderly. This court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Defendants clearly did target the elderly and admitted doing so in their interviews with Bacon and Kimbrough. In addition, Thomas’s objection to receiving a two-level increase “because he did not represent himself to be an IRS agent” is overruled. Thomas specifically admitted to this offense, based upon accountability, at his guilty plea hearing. This court further rejects the arguments raised by Thomas in his Supplement to Commentary on Pre-Sentence Report (# 125).

This court will also address the arguments and objections raised in Coe’s Commentary and Supplement. Coe first argues that his sentence should run concurrent with his sentence in case No. 98 CR 1660 in Georgia because the conduct which led to Coe’s Georgia conviction was considered relevant conduct in the instant federal offense and was part of the overall scheme covered in this case. Citing United States v. Johnson, 117 F.3d 1010, 1013 (7th Cir.1997), Coe argues that his sentence should be concurrent with the entire Georgia sentence, from the time he was taken into custody on December 3, 1997. At the hearing, Beasley and Thomas joined in Coe’s argument, and the probation officer and the Government agreed with Coe’s contention.

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Bluebook (online)
71 F. Supp. 2d 894, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15950, 1999 WL 945936, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-coe-ilcd-1999.