Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling Funds

MICHAEL SHAW, 37, of Mableton, Georgia, was sentenced January 5 by United States District Judge Willis B. Hunt on bank fraud charges relating to an embezzlement scheme.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant is a former lawyer who betrayed the trust that his law firm and its clients placed in him by stealing from them. The evidence showed that his fraud continued over a five-year period, and was far from a one-time accounting mistake. His crimes cost him his job, his law license and now will send him to federal prison.”

SHAW was sentenced to one year and three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. SHAW pleaded guilty to the charges on October 20, 2010.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: SHAW was employed as an associate attorney at a large Atlanta law firm, specializing in bankruptcy and commercial foreclosure litigation. From 2003 to 2009, he regularly performed investigative services for clients himself, but submitted invoices in the name of an investigator who also worked for the firm. These invoices totaled approximately $90,000. At the same time, SHAW performed title-examination services for clients himself, but submitted invoices to the firm in the name of a fictitious vendor. He obtained the vendor’s social security number from federal bankruptcy filings and submitted fraudulent W-9 forms in the vendor’s name. These invoices totaled approximately $425,000. For almost five years, SHAW regularly performed work for clients, submitted fraudulent invoices to the firm’s accounting department, received checks, endorsed the checks over to himself, and deposited the funds into his personal checking account. During this period, he also continued to receive his regular law firm salary as well.

In June 2009, a client’s billing review caused the law firm to discover SHAW’s misconduct, and he was terminated. SHAW, a member of the Georgia Bar from 1999 to 2010, was disbarred by the Georgia State Bar after his misconduct came to light.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Mableton Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million-Dollar Cargo Theft Conspiracy

JOHN RAYMOND SMITH, JR., a/k/a “Johnny Ray Smith,” 50, of Mableton, Georgia, pleaded guilty June 2 in federal district court to conspiring to buy, receive, and possess goods stolen from multiple interstate tractor trailer and container shipments throughout Georgia and the southeastern United States between May 2005 and July 2009. Smith also pleaded guilty to related cargo theft and money laundering charges.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of today’s plea, “Metro Atlanta is a major transportation hub, which makes it an attractive target for cargo thieves. By creating a market in this area for stolen goods, dealers like SMITH encourage others to steal interstate shipments, knowing that they will have a safe haven to unload and sell their truckloads of stolen goods. Consumers who buy these products should suspect they are stolen if they seem to be first-quality, name-brand products at unrealistically low prices.”

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent In Charge Reginael D. McDaniel said, “Money laundering is not a victimless crime. This case is a prime example of how a criminal enterprise creates an underground, untaxed economy that harms our country's overall economic strength.”

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Kennan said, “Cargo theft is an under-reported criminal phenomenon that has disastrous cascading economic consequences to Georgians. This annual estimated five billion dollar criminal activity negatively impacts transportation providers, retailers and consumers through higher shipping, insurance premiums and retail costs. These modern-day pirates cruise the nation's asphalt interstate corridors and parking lots, much like their predecessors who sailed the open seas for unsuspecting targets of opportunity. These pirates have been stopped.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between May 2005 and July 2009, SMITH, who operated “Smith Sales Company”out of warehouses in Mableton and Hiram, Georgia, conspired with ROBIN L. CHEATWOOD, who operated “A-Z Discount” in Cedartown, Georgia, and other co-conspirators to buy, receive, and possess goods stolen from nearly two dozen interstate tractor trailer and container shipments valued at over $3 million throughout the Southeastern United States, including shipments stolen in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The tractor trailers and containers were stolen while parked at truck stops, motels, and container storage facilities, often at night. SMITH, CHEATWOOD, and others then sold the goods at discounted prices to consumers and wholesalers.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers recovered portions of the stolen interstate shipments during searches of warehouses controlled by SMITH, CHEATWOOD, and others in 2005, 2007, and 2009. The stolen goods included a $123,000 shipment of brand name TVs and computers, a $164,000 shipment of “Casio, Inc.” electronics, $100,000 in “GT One” cigarettes, a $1.8 million shipment of computerized “Husqvarna” and “Pfaff” sewing machines, an $86,000 shipment of “Starkist” canned tuna, $40,000 in “Carter’s, Inc.” baby clothes, and $64,000 in “Wrigley’s” chewing gum. Many of the stolen shipments were bound for major retailers such as “Best Buy,” “Lowe’s,” “Sam’s Club,” “Target,” “Wal-Mart,” “OfficeMax,” and “Office Depot.”

As part of a plea agreement with the government, SMITH pleaded guilty to a three count Criminal Information filed on May 17, 2010, charging one count of conspiracy; one count of buying, receiving, and possessing goods stolen from an interstate cargo shipment; and one count of money laundering. He could receive a maximum sentence of up to 5 years in prison on the conspiracy count, 10 years in prison on each of the cargo theft and money laundering counts, and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

CHEATWOOD, who cooperated in the investigation, pleaded guilty to charges related to the stolen goods recovered by law enforcement in 2005. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Rome, Georgia on September 11, 2009, and is currently serving a ten month prison sentence. Neither SMITH nor CHEATWOOD are charged with the actual theft of the cargo containers.

The investigation is ongoing. The GBI has asked that any members of the public who may have seen semi-trailer trucks being unloaded at rest stops, truck stops, industrial areas or residential areas, particularly at night or on weekends, and believe such off-loading may be suspicious, to call the GBI’s Major Theft Unit at 404-244-2600.

SMITH’s sentencing is scheduled for August 17, 2010, at 9:30 a.m., before United States District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr.

The prosecution is the result of a joint investigation conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, and by Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Major Theft Unit of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Multiple additional local law enforcement agencies and offices assisted with the investigation, including the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Organized Crime Intelligence Unit, Cobb County Police Department, Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, the DeKalb County Police Department, and the Cedartown Police Department.

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Mableton Man Faces Federal Charges Arising Out of Home Depot Kickback Scheme

Update: Ian Jay Evans was found NOT GUILTY August 25, 2010.
Case 1:09-cr-00449-RWS-RGV Document 93 Filed 08/25/10 Page 1 of 1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
IAN JAY EVANS,
Defendant.
::::::::
CRIMINAL ACTION NO.
1:09-CR-0449-RWS
JUDGMENT AND ORDER OF DISCHARGE
The Jury having returned a verdict of not guilty as to all of the charges in
the Indictment, it is hereby ORDERED and ADJUDGED that Defendant Ian
Jay Evans is not guilty of the charges in the Indictment and is hereby
DISCHARGED from all obligations arising from this case.
SO ORDERED this 25th day of August, 2010.


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IAN JAY EVANS, 49, of Mableton, Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and 17 additional counts of money laundering, related to bribes that he allegedly paid to a high-level Home Depot employee. EVANS was arraigned today by United States Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield, III.

IRS Special Agent In Charge Reginael D. McDaniel said, “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to commit financial expertise to unravel illegal schemes. Our role is to trace the ill-gotten monies to the individuals ultimately responsible for the crime.”

According to Acting United States Attorney Yates, the indictment and information presented in court: From approximately June 2002 through approximately May 2005, EVANS, a former Product Merchant for Home Depot, who left the company in February 2001, paid more than $1.4 million in kickbacks to RONALD DOUGLASS MATHENY II, 49, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, who was, at the time, a Product Merchant at Home Depot. In exchange for the kickbacks he received from EVANS, MATHENY arranged for Home Depot to purchase items through EVANS for resale in Home Depot’s retail stores on less than the most advantageous terms to Home Depot, and to have EVANS supply services to Home Depot and its suppliers on less than the most advantageous terms to Home Depot.

MATHENY was charged in a Criminal Information and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in relation to this kickback scheme on May 19, 2009. MATHENY is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Richard W. Story on December 3, 2009, at 9:30 a.m.

EVANS could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition, EVANS could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each of the substantive money-laundering counts. EVANS also could be fined up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentence, 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 indictment against EVANS contains only allegations. EVANS is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Anyone with information on corporate kickbacks and fraud is asked to call the FBI at 404-679-9000.

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