Week in Review—South Bend

SOUTH BEND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced that:

Pleas

• Brian Newman, 45, of Michigan City, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for January 31, 2013. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Michigan City Police Department, with the assistance of the Mound, Minnesota Police Department; the Cary, North Carolina Police Department; and the New York State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
• Jesus DeLeon, Sr., 50, of South Bend, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of making false statements in the sale of a firearm. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for January 28, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the South Bend Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.
• Oliver Collins, 48, of Key West, Florida, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of theft from a program receiving federal funds under the control of the University of Notre Dame. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for January 24, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the National Science Foundation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Carlia Wells, 28, of South Bend, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Robert Miller, Jr. to the felony offense of making false statements to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Sentencing has been set for January 28, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the South Bend Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.
• Boss Crosslin, 33, of Elkhart, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud the Indiana Department of Workforce Development into paying $24,358.00 in unemployment benefits while he was gainfully employed. Sentencing has been set for January 24, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Department of Labor-Office of Labor-Management Standards. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Dispositions

• Quentin Baskin, 27, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 16 months’ imprisonment, restitution of $6,642, and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of fraud with identification documents. In his plea agreement, Baskin admitted that he used another’s identifying information to divert monthly disability payments from the Veteran’s Administration to himself. This case was the result of an investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Brook.
• Michael Kincses, 54, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 27 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of manufacture of marijuana. According to the Sentencing Memorandum filed by the government in this case, Kincses was involved with his daughter in manufacturing marijuana with a grow operation of over 100 plants. Over $4,000 in United States Currency was recovered in the home in addition to over five pounds of loose marijuana. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Stephen Sachs, 52, of Goshen, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Robert Miller, Jr. to 72 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of child pornography. According to documents filed by the government in this case, law enforcement obtained a search warrant that was executed at Sachs’ home to seize all of the computers and electronic storage devices located there. Law enforcement subsequently found that Sachs had collected 10,149 digital still images and 55 videos for a total of 14,274 images. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the United States Secret Service and the Elkhart County Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.