Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur
Assistant U.S. Attorney
615-736-5151
DAVID B. TODD, III CONVICTED OF
BANK FRAUD, WIRE FRAUD & MONEY LAUNDERING
Nashville, TN - June 1, 2007 - Craig S. Morford, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge, Cleve Daniels, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Postal Inspector in Charge, Atlanta Division, Martin Phanco, and My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Division, announced that a federal jury has convicted David B. Todd, III, 47, of Nashville, Tennessee, of bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. A seven count indictment charged that Todd engaged in a scheme to defraud the Bank of New York, a federal insured financial institution, by filling false affidavits with the bank which served as the transfer agent for Schering-Plough Corporation stock. The affidavits claimed that Schering-Plough stock and dividends owned by a married couple had been lost and should be reissued or replaced. At the time the affidavits were filed with the Bank of New York, the married couple were deceased. As a result of the fraudulent affidavits, replacement dividend checks and stock certificates were reissued and transferred to accounts controlled by Todd. Todd was also convicted of wire fraud that involved him placing orders over the internet to sell the fraudulently issued stock. The fraudulent scheme involved Todd assuming the identities of the deceased couple, after causing other individuals to obtain false Tennessee drivers licenses in the names of the couple, and using those identities to establish a brokerage account through which the stock was traded. Todd was also convicted of laundering the money he obtained from the fraudulent scheme through a legitimate business bank account for Park Place Motorcars. The jury also issued a verdict of forfeiture in the amount of $467,000.00, representing the proceeds of the scheme.
The maximum statutory penalty for the offense of bank fraud is thirty (30) years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for the offense of wire fraud is five (5) years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for the offense of money laundering is ten (10) years and a $250,000 fine. Judge Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr. has scheduled the sentencing hearing for Todd on September 10, 2007.
The case was investigated by Special Agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and by Postal Inspectors from the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur prosecuted this case.