FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - - United States Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd announced today that a Federal Grand Jury in Greenville, South Carolina returned Indictments against the following:

23 INDICTED IN UPSTATE INVESTMENT FRAUD INVESTIGATION
Twenty-three (23) people were charged in eight federal indictments with wire fraud for offering fraudulent investments.  The indictments are the result of an ongoing FBI investigation into scams that promote phony investment programs, promising unsuspecting investors large returns on their investments.

The defendants are alleged to have sought substantial investments in “note-trading” programs, falsely claiming that the programs existed, the investments were risk-free, and that high yield returns were guaranteed.

Charged in the case are:
        Diane Krajian, age 53, of Beverly Hills, California;
        Denise Krajian, age 51, of Beverly Hills, California;
        George Hew, age 57, of Poughkeepsie, New York;
        Ralph A. Bruce, age 47, of Henderson, Nevada;
        Dennis Houston, age 62, of Huntington Beach, California;
        Fred Gagnon, age unknown, of Madison, New Hampshire;
        Anthony Atkinson, age unknown, of Bangkok, Thailand;
        Kate Miller, age 50, of Daytona  Beach, Florida;
        Nicholas Gelarderes, age 61, of Salt Lake City, Utah;
        Nathan Bregman, age unknown, of Montreal, Canada;
        Robert Allman, age 69, of Attalla, Alabama;
        David Nightingale, age unknown, of Germany;
        Robert Kenneally, age unknown, of Canada;
        David Bruce, age 71, of Oneida, Tennessee;
        Virginia Bruce, age 34, of Oneida, Tennessee;
        Paul Hicks, age 52, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
        Norman Ginsberg, age 86, of Silver Springs, Maryland;
        Elson Q. Lui, age 68, of Redwood City, California;
        Karl E. Johnson, age 65, of Flemington, New Jersey;
        Bert Farnsworth, age 57, of Bentonville, Arkansas;
        Frank E. Adams, age 51, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma;
        Dennis Sauner, age 65, of Manning, South Carolina; and
        Francis G. Hastings, age 67, of Sandpoint, Idaho.

The maximum penalty each defendant could receive is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment of 20 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens of the Greenville office for prosecution.

SEDRIC J. HUNT, LAUREN C. GILES,
TENESHA DEANNE WYATT and MONNETTA AYANDA GOODMAN
SEDRIC J. HUNT, age 27, LAUREN C. GILES, age 21, TENESHA DEANNE WYATT, age 24, and MONNETTA AYANDA GOODMAN, age 25, all of Spartanburg, South Carolina, were charged in a one count Indictment with conspiracy to make, utter and possess counterfeit securities of organizations, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

The maximum penalty for this offense is a fine of $250,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 5 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Secret Service and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens of the Greenville office for prosecution.

DALE HORTON
DALE HORTON, age 46, Spartanburg, South Carolina, was charged in a three count Indictment.  Count 1 charges HORTON with wire fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  Counts 2 and 3 charge HORTON with trafficking in unauthorized access devices, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2).

The maximum penalty for Count 1 is a fine of $250,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 20 years.  The maximum penalty for Count 2 and Count 3 is a fine of $250,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 10 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins of the Greenville office for prosecution.

 
REGINALD NASH and KATRINA THOMPSON
REGINALD NASH, age 33, and KATRINA THOMPSON, age 31, both of Spartanburg, South Carolina, were charged in a four count Indictment.  Count 1 charges NASH and THOMPSON with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more crack cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1).  Count 2 alleges that THOMPSON occupied and used a residence as a “stash house” for the purpose of storing, possessing with intent to distribute, distributing and using large quantities of crack cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856(a).  Count 3 charges NASH with possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A).  Count 4 charges that NASH possessed a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2) and 924(e).

The maximum penalty for each violation is:
18 USC § 841(a)(1) - a maximum term of life imprisonment, with no probation, no parole, and/or a fine of $4,000,000.00
18 USC § 856(a) - a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and/or a fine of $500,000.00.
18 USC § 924(c)(1)(A) - a maximum term of life imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.00.
18 USC 922(g)(1) - a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and/or a fine of $250,000.00.
18 USC 924(e) - a maximum term of life imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.00.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Regan Pendleton of the Greenville Office for prosecution.

KYLE E. WIMMER
KYLE E. WIMMER of Rock Hill, South Carolina, was charged in a eight count Indictment.  Count 1 charges WIMMER with bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344.  Counts 2 - 8 charge WIMMER with money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.  The maximum penalty for Count 1 is a fine of $1,000,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 30 years.

The maximum penalty for Counts 2 - 8 is a fine of $250,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 10 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Secret Service and has been assigned to  Assistant United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins of the Greenville 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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