Washington, D.C. -A 49-year-old Silver Spring, Maryland man, Edward Everett Brown, Jr., has been found guilty of federal charges in connection with his attempt to obtain more than eight million dollars by passing two fraudulent government financial obligations at the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Dennis Schindel, Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and James B. Burch, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Washington Field Office, announced today.

A federal jury in the District of Columbia earlier today found Brown guilty of one count of bank fraud and two counts of uttering fictitious obligations. Brown faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 24, 2007, before the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 18, 2005, Edward Everett Brown, Jr. opened an account with the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union in the District of Columbia. Two days later, he returned and delivered for deposit a fictitious financial obligation purporting to be a certified draft from the U.S. Treasury for $2.9 million dollars. An alert teller referred the draft to the Chief Operation Officer of the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union, who contacted the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Treasury and the U.S. Secret Service. As part of an investigation, agents from those agencies met with Brown and informed him that the draft he presented was worthless and his action in presenting it for negotiation was against federal law. On February 21, 2006, Brown returned to the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union and presented a different fictitious obligation for $5.5 million dollars purporting to be certified by the U.S. Treasury. Brown requested that part of the funds be wired to a settlement company in Maryland for the purchase of a $1.8 million dollar property. That fictitious obligation was not negotiated. As part of the investigation, agents learned that Brown had attempted a similar scheme previously.

In announcing today’s jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Taylor, Acting Department of the Treasury Inspector General Schindel and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Burch commended the efforts of Special Agents Patrick Blake and Karen Cottrell of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Treasury; Special Agents Ryan Petrasek, Leah Turner and Johnny Stinson of the U.S. Secret Service; Alexis Rohan and James Chitty, Forensic Document Examiners, Financial Management Services, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Thomas Royal, Joseph Calvarese and Oliver John-Baptiste, Litigation Services, Paralegal Lynita Green, Legal Assistant April Peeler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas who investigated and prosecuted the case.