February 13, 2015

Week in Review—Hammond

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

PLEAS

  • Robert Lutzka, 49, of Highland, Indiana pled guilty to the felony offense of possession of ammunition while under indictment. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Sentencing has been set for April 21, 2015. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath.

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

  • Roberta Butler, 32, of Valparaiso, Indiana was sentenced to 24 months’ probation after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to documents filed in this case on December 18, 2013, the defendant was part of a group who staged automobile accidents in Northwest Indiana and Chicago and subsequently submitted false and fraudulent police reports and insurance claims for property damage. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.
  • Soulemayne Camara, 27, of Indianapolis, Indiana was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and one year supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of access device (credit card) fraud and transportation of stolen goods through interstate commerce. All stolen property was recovered by the Hobart, Indiana Police Department and will be returned to rightful owners. The defendant has a hold from the Department of Homeland Security and upon release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be turned over to Immigration authorities for possible deportation proceedings. The investigation was conducted by the Hobart Police Department and federal law enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations, United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service.
  • George Van Til, 67, of Merrillville, Indiana, the former elected Lake County, Indiana Surveyor, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment with three years’ supervised release after pleading guilty to the 6 felony counts of wire fraud. According to documents filed in this case, between 2007, through 2012, Van Til used employees of the Lake County, Indiana, Surveyor’s Office to engage in political campaign activities while these employees were being paid with public tax dollars. At sentencing, the court determined that even though Van Til pled guilty, he should not receive a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility because Van Til directed an associate of his to disseminate to a third party, an FBI interview report of a potential government witness. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Benson.