Three Former Fulton County Jailers Sentenced for Obstructing Federal Civil Rights Investigations

Three former Fulton County Jail detention officers were sentenced today (October 28) by Senior United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester for obstructing federal civil rights investigations. CURTIS JEROME BROWN, 42, of Lithonia, Georgia, and MITNEE MARKETTE JONES, 47, of Atlanta, were sentenced to federal prison for lying to a federal grand jury, making false statements to a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and writing false incident reports with the intent to hinder a federal investigation. DERONTAY ANTON LANGFORD, 35, of Atlanta, was ordered to home confinement as part of a probation sentence for his efforts to obstruct one of the investigations.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the convictions, “Today the court sentenced three detention officers for obstructing a federal civil rights investigation of inmate abuse in the Fulton County Jail. These convictions and sentences affirm our strong commitment to pursue justice even when those who are sworn to uphold the law attempt to hide the truth.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “The actions of former Fulton County Detention Officers Brown, Jones and Langford are an erosion of the public's ability to trust the law enforcement personnel who have taken an oath to protect against such egregious, criminal activity. The FBI remains highly committed to investigate such corruption by all government officials, so that the members of the public can continue to trust in the vast majority of law enforcement officials whom respect their oath and are committed to public service. Anyone with information regarding public corruption should contact the Atlanta office of the FBI.”

Fulton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Carter said, “We fully support investigations and prosecutions of persons connected to incidents involving brutality by employees of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office who are sworn to protect and serve fairly. We have zero tolerance for behavior that results in the mistreatment of citizens who come in contact with the Sheriff's Office. Employees are expected to be truthful in reporting and submissions of reports of their actions, investigations, and other related activities.”

BROWN, who was convicted on the charges by a jury on April 16, 2010, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service. JONES, who was convicted on the charges by a jury on January 21, 2010, was sentenced to one year and three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service. LANGFORD entered a negotiated guilty plea to his charges on September 22, 2009, and cooperated with the federal investigation. LANGFORD was sentenced to four months of home confinement as part of three years of probation.

According to United States Attorney Yates and the information presented in court: On August 11, 2007, a Fulton County Jail inmate disrupted a count of inmates by shouting a crude comment to a female detention officer. BROWN handcuffed the inmate behind the inmate’s back and assisted moving the inmate to an administrative segregation area of the jail. While walking the inmate in a hallway that was not monitored by a video camera, BROWN stopped the inmate, admonished him, and hit the inmate. BROWN’s use of force caused the inmate to bleed from his mouth and left blood on the floor and wall. A fellow detention officer was shocked by BROWN’s behavior and immediately reported the conduct to a superior officer. Following the incident, BROWN wrote a memorandum to a supervisor that contained a false account of the incident.

The evidence in the case showed that later, in 2008, BROWN, JONES, and LANGFORD, along with and another detention officer, filed false incident reports omitting that jail staff entered the cell of an inmate and engaged in a physical altercation with the inmate a short time before the inmate was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell. According to trial testimony, BROWN, JONES, and LANGFORD entered the inmate’s cell and used force to subdue the inmate because the inmate was being loud and banging on his cell door and window. Approximately an hour after the group entered the cell, the inmate was discovered unresponsive and not breathing on the cell floor. The inmate was transported to Grady Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Court documents state that at the time of his death, the inmate was housed in the medical unit of the jail due to a mental health condition that required medication. According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s report, the inmate’s cause of death was “probable disrhythmia associated with acute psychotic episode and agitation.”

These cases were investigated by special agents of the FBI.

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Three Members of a “Reverse” Mortgage Fraud Ring Charged

JONATHAN ALFRED KIMPSON, 27, of Lithonia, Georgia, and GIA HARRIS, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud involving so-called "reverse" mortgages. KIMPSON was also charged with aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. KELSEY TORREY HULL, 38, of Lithonia, Georgia, was charged on February 25, 2010, in a Criminal Information related to the same scheme, on a charge of financial institution fraud and conspiracy.

Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants are charged with profiting from the corruption of an FHA-insured program designed to assist seniors with either cash for equity in their home or with funds toward the purchase of a home. These defendants allegedly altered real estate records, used fake documents, and posed as realtors. This abuse of the system took money away from qualified senior citizens who need these funds. With these charges, we have taken the first steps to stop this crime and to reverse the damage these crimes have caused.”

Inspector General Kenneth Donahue, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said, “HUD's Home Equity Conversion Mortgages Program was created to help senior citizens find greater financial security through FHA-insured reverse mortgages loans. The HUD Office of Inspector General will aggressively investigate those who would prey on America's senior citizens through reverse mortgage fraud, and encourages anyone having knowledge of such schemes to contact our HUD hotline at 1-800-347-3735.”

KIMPSON and HARRIS were indicted separately on February 24, 2010, and HULL was charged in a Criminal Information the next day. The indictments and information were unsealed upon the arrest of KIMPSON and HARRIS when they appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker today and entered not guilty pleas to the charges.

According to Acting United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Reverse mortgages were designed to assist with the financial security of seniors, ages 62 or older. There are two types of reverse mortgages. In a “refi-reverse,” the senior homeowner receives money from the lender for a portion of their equity in the home they own. In a “purchase money reverse,” the senior homeowner receives money from the lender toward the purchase of a new home. Under both types of reverse mortgages, the senior does not have to repay the lender for as long as the senior lives in the home. However, refi-reverse mortgages fund only a percentage of the property value, requiring significant equity to remain in the property, and purchase money reverse mortgages require a significant down payment from senior borrowers, to establish equity in the property.

The indictment charges that KIMPSON, HARRIS, and HULL, in an attempt to take advantage of the system, allegedly faked the required down payments by the senior citizen to establish the equity needed in the home to qualify for the FHA-insured reverse mortgages. The defendants did this through bogus “gift” letters in amounts between $50,000 and $105,000. They used fake “HUD-1" Settlement Statements reflecting the sale of non-existent assets closed by fictitious law firms to show the source of the required down payments. All down payments were actually supplied by the defendants, not the senior citizens, to be returned to the defendants upon the reverse loan closings, along with profits far in excess of the true sales prices of the properties. The return of such payments to the defendants was disguised as seller proceeds or lien payoffs. All such reverse mortgages included fraudulently inflated appraisals.

KIMPSON’s charge of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud relates to a scheme to use stolen identities of realtors. KIMPSON allegedly used realtor passwords obtained in his and relatives' names, and in the stolen identities of other realtors. With that information, he allegedly falsified Georgia MLS records to create fake property sales at inflated amounts to support many of the properties' fraudulent appraisals.

The KIMPSON indictment charges a conspiracy count which carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, a wire fraud count with a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and three aggravated identity theft counts which each carry a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 with at leas two years required to be imposed consecutive to the sentence on the other counts. The HARRIS indictment charges a conspiracy count which carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The HULL Criminal Information charges a bank fraud count which carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a conspiracy count which carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. In determining the actual sentence upon any convictions in these cases, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictments and information contain only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

These cases are being investigated by Special Agents of the HUD-Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistance in this case is also being provided by the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) and the Georgia Multiple Listing Service.

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Former Accountant Sentenced to Federal Prison for Embezzling $164,000 from Charitable Organization

CAROLYN EDWARDS HERRON, 48, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to prison yesterday by United States District Judge Marvin H. Shoob on charges that she embezzled more than $164,000 from a charitable organization that receives federal funds.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “The defendant was the Chief Financial Officer for Traveler’s Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta, a charitable organization that provides housing, support and assistance to homeless men, women and children in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Abusing her position, she embezzled more than $164,000.00 of the charity’s funds, and used that money for her own needs. Because of her crime, Traveler’s Aid was deprived of funds that were intended to be used to provide food, shelter, medical care and financial assistance for some of Atlanta’s neediest residents. The prison sentence handed down today reflects the seriousness of this defendant’s criminal conduct, and should serve as a deterrence to others who might be tempted to enrich themselves at the expense of Atlanta’s neediest citizens.”

Kenneth M. Donohue, Inspector General for the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, said, “HUD's Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring taxpayers' dollars are put to good use and HUD programs are free from waste, fraud and abuse. This joint prosecutorial effort by the U.S. Attorney's Office and HUD's Office of Inspector General has helped send a strong message that those who seek to unlawfully profit by defrauding programs within HUD face federal prison.”

HERRON was sentenced to 2 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $164,651.94 in restitution to Traveler’s Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.

HERRON pleaded guilty to the charges on January 20, 2009.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: HERRON was employed as the Chief Financial Officer of Traveler’s Aid from February 2005 through August 2007. In that position she was authorized to prepare and sign checks and she was solely responsible for preparing the payroll. HERRON embezzled funds from Traveler’s Aid in a variety of ways. On several occasions after employees left their employment with Traveler’s Aid, HERRON kept them on the payroll, but diverted the electronic deposit of their paychecks to her own checking account. She gave herself three significant, unauthorized raises. On two occasions she paid herself twice for the same pay period. She also wrote checks from Traveler’s Aid accounts to pay her personal expenses and to pay for personal charges on a credit card that was issued to her by the charity. Traveler’s Aid receives federal grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development each year.

This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Assistant United States Attorney William L. McKinnon, Jr., prosecuted the case.

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Georgia Jail Officer Arrested on Civil Rights, Obstruction of Justice Charges

CURTIS JEROME BROWN, JR., 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, a former Fulton County Sheriff’s Detention Officer who worked at the Fulton County Jail, was arrested March 20, 2009, by FBI agents and charged with the felony offenses of violating civil rights, filing a false report, making false statements to federal agents, and two counts of obstruction of justice. BROWN is expected to make his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Gerrilyn Brill March 20.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said: “All citizens—including citizens held as inmates in our jails—have a constitutional right not to be subjected to excessive force by law enforcement officers. The great majority of detention officers do their difficult and dangerous work with courage and professionalism. But officers who instead decide to physically abuse inmates will face federal investigation and prosecution. And anyone who tries to interfere with our investigations through false reports, false statements, witness tampering, and other obstruction of justice will also face prosecution, even if they were not involved in the underlying abuse.

U.S. Attorney Nahmias continued, “For those at the Fulton County Jail who believed that such serious crimes would be overlooked, or punished only by reassignment or termination, today’s action should serve as a wake-up call. Those who engage in such crimes should expect to be arrested, as this former officer was today, and ultimately to face their own time as an inmate. Our investigation into the two incidents described in the criminal complaint, as well as other incidents at the Fulton County Jail, is active and ongoing. Anyone who has information about such crimes is encouraged to contact the FBI at 404-679-9000, and any officer involved in such incidents will be much better off calling the FBI now than waiting for the FBI to show up at their door.”

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, “Law enforcement officers who tarnish the badge deserve the swiftest and harshest treatment the justice system will allow. Every proud and honorable member of our profession is outraged by what we’ve witnessed in this case, and with good cause. Our badges represent a sacred promise to protect and serve, not a shield behind which rogue officers may hide and abuse their authority. Those who have placed themselves above the law and who violate the civil rights of others should consider themselves warned: You may very well find yourself on the other side of the jailhouse door, and sooner than you think.”

Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson, who joined the United States Attorney in a brief news conference this afternoon, said of the case, “The violation of the civil rights of housed inmates is not tolerated by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Any failure to comply with the Civil Rights Act will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law in coordination with federal authorities. The behavior described in the federal criminal complaint is not representative of the hard work and dedication of the employees of this jail.”

According to U.S. Attorney Nahmias, the charges and information presented in court: On August 11, 2007, BROWN, who was then a detention officer at the Fulton County Jail, allegedly violated the civil rights of an inmate at the jail by using excessive force against the inmate, causing bodily injury. After learning that the inmate had made derogatory remarks to another officer, BROWN allegedly took the inmate to another area of the jail with that officer and told a trustee to leave the area. BROWN then put on black leather gloves and hit the inmate—whose hands BROWN had cuffed behind the inmate’s back—in the face and head with his gloved fists until the inmate was bleeding, ignoring repeated requests by the other officer to stop the beating. The first officer and two other officers reported the incident to the Assistant Watch Commander.

BROWN then allegedly obstructed the investigation of the incident by, among other things, trying to convince the first officer and another officer to write their reports on the incident together with him, which the other officers believed was an effort to prevent them from telling the truth. BROWN then allegedly filed a false report regarding the incident, falsely claiming that the inmate had aggressively moved toward him and threatened to harm him and that he reacted by “giving an open hand smack” to the inmate’s face. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department Office of Professional Standards (OPS) began investigating the assault on or about August 21, 2007, but the Sheriff’s Department took no action against BROWN for more than a year.

Meanwhile, according to the criminal complaint, on the night of March 18-19, 2008, another jail inmate was causing a commotion in his cell when BROWN and two other staff members allegedly entered the cell and engaged in a physical altercation with the inmate. According to eyewitness accounts, the inmate was on the floor when BROWN and the other staff members left the cell. After they left, the inmate was discovered unresponsive and not breathing on the cell floor and was transported to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The FBI began an investigation of the inmate’s suspicious in-custody death. On August 13, 2008, BROWN allegedly made false statements during an FBI interview, concealing that he had entered the cell prior to the discovery of the inmate unresponsive and not breathing and claiming that he took photos of the scene that were deleted from the jail’s digital camera and computer, when forensic review shows that no such photos were deleted. During testimony before a federal grand jury on August 28, 2008, BROWN again allegedly concealed his role in the physical altercation in the cell. BROWN was charged with making false statements to the FBI and obstruction of justice in relation to this incident.

BROWN was terminated by the Sheriff’s Department on October 22, 2008.

The federal investigation of both incidents and other incidents at the Fulton County Jail is continuing. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department is cooperating in the investigation.

Members of the public are reminded that the criminal complaint only contains only allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Angela M. Jordan are prosecuting the case.

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