FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
BRYAN EDWARD STURGIS PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula on May 12, 2008, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, BRYAN EDWARD STURGIS, a 42-year-old resident of Stevensville, pled guilty to making false representations of a Social Security number. Sentencing is set for September 26, 2008. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 22, 2005, at Stevensville, STURGIS falsely represented on employment forms that Social Security number ***-**-1501 was his own number.
Evidence would have shown that STURGIS had represented this same number to be his own at other times as well.
A Social Security Administration investigator would have provided testimony and documentation establishing that Social Security number ***-**-1501 is a valid number which was assigned to another person.
Further testimony and documentation would have also shown that Social Security number ***-**-1501 was never assigned to STURGIS and that he has his own Social Security number (***-**-2314) assigned to him.
Documentation would have been presented to show that STURGIS applied for and received a replacement Social Security card in 1996. On the application for replacement card, STURGIS correctly indicated that he had been assigned Social Security number ***-**-2314. No other Social Security card has been issued to STURGIS since 1996.
STURGIS faces possible penalties of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Lahr prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by the Inspector General's Office for the Social Security Administration.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
