Plymouth Attorney Sentenced To 41 Months In Prison For Stealing $500,000 From Investors

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced the sentencing of TIMOTHY JON OLIVER, 62, for stealing $500,000 from ARS Tectonica, a Mexican construction company, in connection with a purported real estate project in Libya. OLIVER, who pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on September 10, 2014, was sentenced on April 1, 2016, before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

“Lying and stealing are always damaging to the victims and to society writ large,” said Assistant United States Attorney David J. MacLaughlin. “Such conduct is especially egregious, and particularly undermining of trust between people, when it is perpetrated by a licensed attorney, a person on whose advice others rely to conduct themselves in accordance with the law. Mr. Oliver’s disbarment, and his 41-month sentence, appropriately punish him for the deceit and dishonesty to which he pled guilty.”

According the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, from May 2009 to May 2010, OLIVER controlled two companies, American Diversified Industries, LLC (ADI), which was used to receive proceeds of the scheme, and GVA International Limited, which was purported to be developing a real estate project in Bani Walid, Libya. OLIVER pressured, and ultimately convinced, ARS Tectonica to send $500,000 to ADI to secure a letter of credit from a Minnesota credit union.

According to his guilty plea, OLIVER told ARS Tectonica that the letter of credit would be presented to the Organization for Development of Administrative Centers (ODAC), an arm of the Libyan government, as a performance bond for the real estate project in Libya. He also told ARS Tectonica that, once ODAC approved the letter of credit, it would be awarded the opportunity to become the construction manager for the Bani Walid project.

According to documents filed in court, on May 21, 2009, ARS Tectonica wired $500,000 to OLIVER, which was received through ADI’s account that was maintained by the defendant. Instead of using the money to secure a letter of credit, OLIVER spent the money on unrelated debts. For almost a year thereafter, OLIVER lulled ARS Tectonica into believing that the $500,000 remained at the credit union and was being utilized by the credit union to secure the letter of credit. As part of his sentence, OLIVER is ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution to ARS Tectonica.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. MacLaughlin.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Defendant Information:

TIMOTHY JON OLIVER, 62

Plymouth, MN

Convicted:

• Wire fraud, 1  count

Sentenced:

• 41 months in prison
• $750,000 in restitution

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600