Virgin Islands Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charge

CONTACT:         Barbara Burns              
PHONE:           (716) 843-5817
FAX:              (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., announced today that Kevin Liburd, 41, of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to conspiracy to defraud the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Burgasser, who is handling the case, stated that on January 27, 2011, the defendant, along with co-defendants Mica Donadelle and James Phillips, conspired to avoid the detection of $162,300 at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Phillips, an airport employee at the time, bypassed screening procedures and stored the money in an airport bathroom which was later picked up by Liburd.

Phillips has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing. Charges are still pending against Donadelle. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Safe Streets Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 1, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Skretny.