Week in Review—South Bend

SOUTH BEND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in federal court:

Pleas:

• Tenneil Selner, 33, of South Bend, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein to the felony offense of distribution of pseudoephedrine. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for January 30, 2014. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Horacio Hernandez, 50, of Goshen, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein to the felony offense of re-entry of a deported alien and failure to register as a sex offender. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for January 29, 2014. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the United States Marshals. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.

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:

• Connie Horvath, 43, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to 33 months of imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and restitution of $249,390.11 after pleading guilty to the felony offense of bank fraud. According to documents filed in this case, Horvath executed a scheme to defraud the bank at which she was employed. Horvath worked in commercial banking and sales and issued loans that benefited her personally without the approval of the bank. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.
• Christopher Akens, 36, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to 78 months’ imprisonment and 15 years’ supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of sexual exploitation of minors. According to documents filed in this case, Akens utilized ARES peer-2-peer file sharing to download a video of child pornography. Upon further investigation by law enforcement, Akens revealed he maintained a digital collection of additional similar material. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Mac.
• Kandi Biggins, 44, of Spencerville, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 15 months’ imprisonment, two years’ supervised release, and to pay restitution of $182,466 after pleading guilty to the felony offense of bank fraud. According to documents filed in this case, Biggins executed a scheme and artifice to defraud a financial institution and to obtain money, funds, credits, and other property owned by or under the custody or control of a financial institution, Tower Bank, by means of false and fraudulent pretenses and representations. In particular, Biggins was employed by Tower Bank and used false statements and pretenses in order to obtain bank funds in the form of cashier’s checks from her employer, Tower Bank, that she used to pay her personal expenses. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.