Federal Criminal Defense Blog : Georgia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Gillen Withers & Lake Law Firm : White Collar Crime, RICO, Trial : Atlanta, Savannah, GA

The season for college sports is upon us once again and what better way to honor the occasion than with a bit of news from 7th Space Interactive that Dale Brannan, of Fayetteville, Georgia, has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for defrauding various universities and colleges, including Kansas State University, the University of New Mexico, Oakland University, Stonehill College and Minnesota State University - Mankato. Mr. Brannan was arraigned last week on charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and one count of making a false declaration in a bankruptcy filing.

Mr. Brannan is alleged to have operated a company called Transport Athletics in Fayetteville and Savannah, Georgia, which purportedly arranged for overseas travel for collegiate sports teams to countries including China, Italy, Brazil and Finland. However, the government has charged that he used the funds paid by universities and colleges to pay the costs of earlier trips of other schools and to pay his personal expenses.

Mr. Brannan is alleged to have caused Transports Athletics to file for bankruptcy and notified the schools that the trips had been cancelled. He then allegedly started another company, Sports Tours and Tournament Specialists, Inc., or STATS, and re-commenced the scheme. The alleged loss from the activities is over $400,000.

Gillen Withers & Lake LLC are expert criminal law attorneys with a stunning record of success on behalf of our clients in criminal investigations and prosecutions.

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Georgia federal criminal news today includes:

A warning by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia to would-be tax law violators, listing recent tax prosecutions (which has become something of an annual tradition as April 15 approaches).

Two Marietta, Georgia, men were sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for defrauding investors, as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. James Reece's and Patrick Soltis' outlandish false representations included claims that actress Raquel Welch was the spokeswoman for a cosmetics company they owned, and that they were working in conjunction with the University of Minnesota to develop a faster growing species of tree. Reece was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months. Soltis recieved 3 years and 5 months. Both men were ordered to pay hundreds of thousands in restitution.

Picture courtesy of www.verumserum.com.

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Trevor Cook was 37 year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota-based investment advisor. He is alleged to have defrauded investors of at least $130 million. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis found Cook in contempt of an order by the Court requiring Cook and his associates to turn in investor assets to a receiver, according to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cook invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in response to questions regarding money, assets and offshore accounts. U.S. Marshals took Cook into custody yesterday. The Court ordered Cook to remain incarcerated until he cooperates with the receiver and surrenders monies and assets, including a houseboat and a submarine. Cook is also ordered to assist in the recovery of a computer and other records.

Cook pitched currency investments to investors. The alleged scheme was promoted by Cook and Pat Kiley in a widely broadcast radio program called "Follow the Money." Cook used a vast array of business entities and bank accounts to funnel monies from investors, including eight accounts in the U.S. and 19 foreign accounts in a dozen countries. The structuring of the transactions and the fact that some of the foreign accounts are in countries noted for being bank secrecy havens has made the monies difficult to locate. Cook has not yet been indicted.

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