Week in Review—Hammond

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

Pleas:

• Montell Williams, 33, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of transporting for prostitution. Sentencing has been set for April 25, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gary Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.
• Laurie Brezinski, 43, of Schererville, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offenses of embezzlement from a corporation engaged in the business of insurance and filing a false income tax return. Sentencing has been set for April 4, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

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:

• Nathaniel Milligan, Jr., 43, of East Chicago, Indiana, a defendant in the case U.S. v Webb et al., was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 51 months’ imprisonment and four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the East Chicago Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Kolar and Jill Koster.
• Kimberlyn Cross, 49, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 27 months’ imprisonment, restitution of $121,600, and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of wire fraud. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Cross pled guilty and admitted her role in a scheme to defraud the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). Cross ran a fake daycare at the expense of Indiana citizens. Her conduct involved a high level of sophistication—including paying kickbacks to some mothers to gain access to their swipe cards and repeatedly submitting false information to the state giving the impression a daycare operated at her home. In reality, for many months, no daycare existed. Cross used others, including minors, to steal $121,600 from FSSA and $17,683.81 from a business providing food services to FSSA. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.
• Gerardo Lozano, 35, of Hobart, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 21 months’ imprisonment, restitution of $5,136, and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of paying a bribe to an agent of local government receiving federal funds. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Lozano formed Greentree Builders in 2006. From 2007 through 2009 Lozano’s business received 1.3 million dollars from East Chicago, the School City of East Chicago, and the East Chicago Public Library. In 2008, Lozano provided free home renovations to Frank Ramirez, treasurer for the School City of East Chicago, with the intent to influence Ramirez with respect to contracts issued by the school city of East Chicago, a local government that received more than $10,000 in federal funds during 2008. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.