Posted by Deborah Goonan
Commentary: When “key players” in a massive fraud scheme – resulting in millions of dollars in losses – are ordered to serve 30 months in prison, and make restitution of a share of a mere $100,000, one has to wonder if sentences for fraud and theft in Homeowners’ Associations are tough enough to prevent similar crimes in the future. I’m guessing that an opportunist like McChesney, willing to organize a mass conspiracy through intimidation and threats, will not be deterred from a repeat performance.
Here’s the latest in a series of reports by Jeff German.
Written by By Jeff German
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Charles McChesney, a key player in the scheme to take over and defraud Las Vegas Valley homeowners associations, was sentenced Monday to 30 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan also ordered McChesney to pay a share of $100,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after prison.
McChesney apologized to Mahan and said he regretted his participation in the massive takeover conspiracy.
“It”s something that grew over time, and as it grew I grew with it,” McChesney said.
Mahan told McChesney his background as a private investigator and bail bondsman made him a “dangerous member of the conspiracy.”
He gave McChesney until Oct. 23 to surrender to federal prison authorities.
McChesney pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy and three wire fraud counts, all felonies, and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. He is among the last of more than 40 defendants being sentenced in the long-running investigation, which became public in September 2008 with FBI-led raids across the Las Vegas Valley.
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Preview, read full article at NV Review Journal:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/key-player-hoa-scheme-gets-30-months-federal-prison