Durant Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 03, 2010 |
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA—Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that ANNA JOLENE CHESTNUT, age 62, of Durant, Oklahoma, pled guilty to wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
Charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CHESTNUT was indicted in February 2010.
The Indictment alleges that from in or about August 2008, and ending in or about March 2009, CHESTNUT, wrote fraudulent checks to herself out of an estate account and trust account, while employed as a legal assistant for a local attorney.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion.
The defendant remains on bond pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 30 years’ imprisonment and/or up to $1,000,000.00 in fines. A preliminary calculation of the sentencing guidelines, predicts a term of 24-30 months’ imprisonment.
Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States.