Retired IRS Agent Pleads Guilty to Transporting Individual from California to Nevada for Prostitution

RENO, NV—A retired special agent with IRS Criminal Investigation pleaded guilty today to transporting a woman from California to Nevada for the purpose of prostitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Kemp Shiffer, 58, of Reno, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben to one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution. Shiffer had been indicted by the federal grand jury in Reno on September 28, 2011.

“Prostitution may be lawful in most Nevada counties, but it is unlawful under federal law to transport persons across state lines for the purpose of prostitution,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Additionally, and as the plea agreement indicates, the defendant’s sentence may be increased by the court because the defendant coerced the woman to engage in prostitution.”

The plea agreement filed in the case states that on about July 25, 2011, Shiffer transported an individual identified as “C.M.,” from California to Nevada with the intent that “C.M.” would engage in prostitution when she arrived in Nevada. Shiffer engaged in coercive conduct in order to compel “C.M.” to engage in prostitution, and Shiffer was the organizer, leader, manager, and supervisor of the criminal activity, which included another participant, identified in the plea agreement as “E.H.,” who helped Shiffer recruit and transport “C.M.” from California to Nevada.

Sentencing for Shiffer is scheduled for February 14, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and agreed to forfeit a 2006 Mercedes Benz, an iPhone, computer, and various cameras.

The case was investigated by the Reno Police Department, FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla B. Higginbotham.