United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the guilty plea of ROBERT JAMES SCHUELLER, 29, who devised a plot to harm his former paramour’s fiancé. SCHUELLER was charged by Information on May 26, 2015, and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Richard H. Kyle in United States District Court in St. Paul, Minn.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Allyn said: “The defendant spent months trying to seriously harm an unsuspecting victim simply because that man was romantic competition in the defendant’s thwarted love affair. The Government is thankful that the defendant finally accepted responsibility for his bizarre scheme and pled guilty.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, SCHUELLER, then vice-president of Nomad Pipeline (Nomad) and married to then president M.S., had an extramarital affair with an employee of Nomad’s sister company. Approximately three months after R.T. ended the relationship with SCHUELLER, SCHUELLER learned that R.T. was in a relationship with C.A. Therefore, SCHUELLER began attempting to win back R.T.’s affections. When the defendant was unable to win back R.T., he began pursuing various schemes to get C.A. out of the picture and away from R.T.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on February 6, 2014, SCHUELLER called W.E., another Nomad employee, and asked if W.E. stayed in contact with any of his prison contacts because SCHUELLER had a guy that needed to “go away.” Over the course of several months, SCHUELLER and W.E. communicated back and forth concerning the defendant’s desire to find someone willing to harm C.A. Once W.E. provided SCHUELLER a specific name as a possible person who could injure C.A., SCHUELLER sent W.E. a package containing $10,000 in cash and a business card, on which C.A.’s name was written. On May 2, 2014, W.E. informed SCHUELLER that he was unable to find someone to carry out the plot to injure C.A. and then returned the $10,000 to SCHUELLER. After this conversation, SCHUELLER texted W.E. and instructed him to burn the business card.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, SCHUELLER admitted to attempting to contact several other Nomad employees seeking their assistance in causing bodily injury to C.A. SCHUELLER further admitted to plotting various seduction schemes in an attempt to break-up C.A. and R.T. For example, in January 2014, SCHUELLER paid his sister-in-law $500 to seduce C.A.; and in May 2014, SCHUELLER posted a Craigslist ad titled “Girls– 1 time $5,000 cash offer” that sought a “pretty girl” to “break up a couple by any means necessary” and offered payment for such services.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie E. Allyn and Steven L. Schleicher in the U.S. Attorney’s Office newly formed Special Prosecutions Section.

Defendant Information:

ROBERT JAMES SCHUELLER, 29

Farming Township, Minn.

Convicted:

• Threats Transmitted by Interstate Communication, one count