FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
JAMES GUS GEORGACOPOULOS SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 9, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JAMES GUS GEORGACOPOULOS, a 61-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. GEORGACOPOULOS was sentenced to a term of:
- Probation: 4 years
- Special Assessment: $200
- Restitution: $11,778
GEORGACOPOULOS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy and theft of government money.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2005, Lowell Timothy Howell and GEORGACOPOULOS lived with a former desk clerk of the Esquire Hotel in Billings. The clerk was aware that Howell and GEORGACOPOULOS had been stealing an individual's Veterans Administration (VA) checks since January 2005, when GEORGACOPOULOS worked as a desk clerk at the Esquire. GEORGACOPOULOS and Howell had discussed their scheme in her presence. GEORGACOPOULOS would steal the checks, forge the victim's signature, and then give them to Howell. Howell would then deposit the checks in his account and split the proceeds with GEORGACOPOULOS. Conversation between the two relating to the scheme would occur approximately once a month. The former desk clerk had also personally witnessed GEORGACOPOULOS take the victim's mail from the Esquire and sign his name on some of the checks.
The intended recipient of these VA checks is currently an inmate at the Pinellas County Jail in Florida. He was interviewed regarding this matter and stated that although he had applied for VA benefits, he had never received any money from them. He stated that he has memory problems, so he does not know if he knows Howell or GEORGACOPOULOS. However, he stated that he never gave anyone permission to sign his name on checks and he has never given anyone a power of attorney.
A search for VA checks made payable to the victim initially revealed a total of 11 checks. The first check, for $2472, was cashed at Western Pawn Brokers.
The owner of Western Pawn Brokers identified Howell as the person who cashed the check. Howell had arrived at the store with another man, sitting in the truck, who the owner later learned to be GEORGACOPOULOS. Howell told the owner that the check had been written to the man in the truck who was disabled and therefore unable to cash the check himself. The owner then cashed the check.
The other 10 checks were all negotiated at First Citizens Bank between February 1, 2005, and November 1, 2005 (date of checks). A search of their records indicated that Howell opened an account at that bank in October of 2004. Since then, those 10 checks, written to the victim, were all deposited into Howell's account. A later search at the Austin Data Center uncovered a check issued and deposited on November 1, 2005. That is the same date that GEORGACOPOULOS stole the mail from the Esquire Motor Inn. That check, as well as another check issued December 2, 2005, were deposited into Howell's account at First Citizens Bank.
The total amount of all the VA checks is over $11,000. Over the course of that time, Howell made numerous withdrawals from the First Citizens Bank account, completely depleting the funds in the account.
On December 21, 2005, Howell was interviewed and admitted to his role in the scheme. He stated that GEORGACOPOULOS would steal the victim's checks and forge his signature on the back. GEORGACOPOULOS would then give the checks to Howell, who would deposit them into his account and split the money with GEORGACOPOULOS.
Many of the checks contained information, beyond the victim's signature, that implicated GEORGACOPOULOS. Some of them had social security numbers, none of which were the victim's social security numbers. However, these numbers were very similar to GEORGACOPOULOS' social security number. Many of them simply had one digit changed. Furthermore, some of the checks contained birthdates that were very similar to GEORGACOPOULOS' birthdate. They were also usually just one digit away from his birthday.
Howell pled guilty to federal charges and has been sentenced.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that GEORGACOPOULOS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, GEORGACOPOULOS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
