Fraud artists sentenced to prison
Source: The Associated Press, July 30, 2003
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Two men who tried to pass $3 million in false currency featuring the photos of the Queen of England have been sentenced to up to eight years in federal prison.
A jury convicted Lyle Hartford Van Dyke Jr. of Battle Ground, Wash., and John S. Nolan of Lake Oswego in December on charges of conspiracy, manufacturing fictitious obligations and passing fake money. Nolan was also convicted of mail fraud.
Judge Robert E. Jones had also ordered the men to undergo psychiatric evaluations because of strange courtroom conduct.
Van Dyke, who claimed to have placed $33 million in liens on the judge's property, continued to be confrontational and defiant in U.S. District Court on Monday as he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
But on Tuesday, Nolan quietly accepted his sentence of more than five years in prison, and even apologized to the judge for his behavior during the trial.
Jones said he gave Nolan the minimum sentence because he admitted his guilt and promised not to appeal his conviction. Nolan's apology also helped, he said.
Van Dyke, on the other hand, is a "hopeless sociopath" who will "continue his activities until he dies," the judge said.
Van Dyke and Nolan represented themselves during a seven-day trial marked by long explanations that the judge repeatedly called irrelevant.
The psychiatric evaluations ordered by the judge determined the men were fit for sentencing.
Nolan and Van Dyke created and passed three series of fraudulent notes and drafts that they said were collectible from Jackson National Life Insurance Co. and the U.S. Treasury.
Some of the notes were for sale on the Internet and also were sold to unwitting clients of Nolan's insurance business. About $600,000 worth were sent to the Internal Revenue Service to pay the tax debts of Nolan and seven others, prosecutors said.
Jones also ordered the men to each pay more than $20,000 in restitution.
Source: The Associated Press, July 30, 2003
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Two men who tried to pass $3 million in false currency featuring the photos of the Queen of England have been sentenced to up to eight years in federal prison.
A jury convicted Lyle Hartford Van Dyke Jr. of Battle Ground, Wash., and John S. Nolan of Lake Oswego in December on charges of conspiracy, manufacturing fictitious obligations and passing fake money. Nolan was also convicted of mail fraud.
Judge Robert E. Jones had also ordered the men to undergo psychiatric evaluations because of strange courtroom conduct.
Van Dyke, who claimed to have placed $33 million in liens on the judge's property, continued to be confrontational and defiant in U.S. District Court on Monday as he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
But on Tuesday, Nolan quietly accepted his sentence of more than five years in prison, and even apologized to the judge for his behavior during the trial.
Jones said he gave Nolan the minimum sentence because he admitted his guilt and promised not to appeal his conviction. Nolan's apology also helped, he said.
Van Dyke, on the other hand, is a "hopeless sociopath" who will "continue his activities until he dies," the judge said.
Van Dyke and Nolan represented themselves during a seven-day trial marked by long explanations that the judge repeatedly called irrelevant.
The psychiatric evaluations ordered by the judge determined the men were fit for sentencing.
Nolan and Van Dyke created and passed three series of fraudulent notes and drafts that they said were collectible from Jackson National Life Insurance Co. and the U.S. Treasury.
Some of the notes were for sale on the Internet and also were sold to unwitting clients of Nolan's insurance business. About $600,000 worth were sent to the Internal Revenue Service to pay the tax debts of Nolan and seven others, prosecutors said.
Jones also ordered the men to each pay more than $20,000 in restitution.
