MOBILE, Alabama April 21 2013– A local woman today pleaded guilty to filing false oil spill claims – and helping others do so – to the tune of about $400,000.
Trecia Howard McGee pleaded guilty to access device fraud and wire fraud.
It is, perhaps, the biggest case of fraud related to the BP PLC oil spill prosecuted in Mobile.
Federal prosecutors have charged scores of people in the Mobile area with making bogus claims of lost income from the 2010 oil spill. The typical case has involved less than $25,000. The vast majority have received probation.
Because the total fraud amount involves so much money in this case, McGee could be facing stiffer punishment.
“She’s the first one I know of that is looking at jail time instead of probation,” defense attorney Joseph Pilcher said.
The case involves a number of people who filed fraudulent claims indicating that they lost their job from the Hardee’s restaurant in Loxley, where McGee worked as a manger.
None of the restaurant’s employees lost jobs because of the spill, according to law enforcement officials.
Pilcher said his client has no criminal record and did not receive near $400,000. That estimate comes from the total amount that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility paid to McGee and others that she assisted.
“That’s somewhat preliminary,” he said. “That may not be the exact number. We’ll know at the sentencing hearing.”
According to her written plea agreement, McGee filed her own claim on Sept. 10, 2010, falsely listing lost wages due to reduced hours.
McGee also claimed lost income from selling fish plates and submitted a fictitious fishing license in her name, according to the plea agreement. The document states that the license actually had been issued to another person.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which BP set up to compensate victims of the spill, paid McGee $19,500.
McGee and other Hardee’s employees submitted termination verification letters from the restaurant and/or its parent company, Paradigm Investment Group. But that company did not write any of the letters, according to the plea agreement.
The plea document suggests that money McGee received from her claim and from others she helped fueled a dramatic increase in her lifestyle. Average deposits into her bank account jumped from $3,000 per month to about $9,000 per month, a large majority of which was cash, according to court records.
One of those deposits, $35,800 on Oct. 7, came from a fraudulent claim she filed for a person identified in court documents at P.W.
McGee bought a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup truck from Mark Dodge for $34,454 on Jan. 4, 2011, by trading in her vehicle for $10,000 and paying $25,000 in cash. She also paid $13,635 in cash for the purchase of a 2006 Nissan Titan from Tint Masters Auto Sales in Theodore on Feb. 4 of last year, according to the plea agreement.
The plea document lists several claimants that she assisted:
Trecia Howard McGee pleaded guilty to access device fraud and wire fraud.
It is, perhaps, the biggest case of fraud related to the BP PLC oil spill prosecuted in Mobile.
Federal prosecutors have charged scores of people in the Mobile area with making bogus claims of lost income from the 2010 oil spill. The typical case has involved less than $25,000. The vast majority have received probation.
Because the total fraud amount involves so much money in this case, McGee could be facing stiffer punishment.
“She’s the first one I know of that is looking at jail time instead of probation,” defense attorney Joseph Pilcher said.
The case involves a number of people who filed fraudulent claims indicating that they lost their job from the Hardee’s restaurant in Loxley, where McGee worked as a manger.
None of the restaurant’s employees lost jobs because of the spill, according to law enforcement officials.
Pilcher said his client has no criminal record and did not receive near $400,000. That estimate comes from the total amount that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility paid to McGee and others that she assisted.
“That’s somewhat preliminary,” he said. “That may not be the exact number. We’ll know at the sentencing hearing.”
According to her written plea agreement, McGee filed her own claim on Sept. 10, 2010, falsely listing lost wages due to reduced hours.
McGee also claimed lost income from selling fish plates and submitted a fictitious fishing license in her name, according to the plea agreement. The document states that the license actually had been issued to another person.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which BP set up to compensate victims of the spill, paid McGee $19,500.
McGee and other Hardee’s employees submitted termination verification letters from the restaurant and/or its parent company, Paradigm Investment Group. But that company did not write any of the letters, according to the plea agreement.
The plea document suggests that money McGee received from her claim and from others she helped fueled a dramatic increase in her lifestyle. Average deposits into her bank account jumped from $3,000 per month to about $9,000 per month, a large majority of which was cash, according to court records.
One of those deposits, $35,800 on Oct. 7, came from a fraudulent claim she filed for a person identified in court documents at P.W.
McGee bought a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup truck from Mark Dodge for $34,454 on Jan. 4, 2011, by trading in her vehicle for $10,000 and paying $25,000 in cash. She also paid $13,635 in cash for the purchase of a 2006 Nissan Titan from Tint Masters Auto Sales in Theodore on Feb. 4 of last year, according to the plea agreement.
The plea document lists several claimants that she assisted:
- Tiffine Sanders received $38,500, cashed the check and paid McGee about $19,800. She pleaded guilty in July and awaits sentencing.
- Dorhonda Harris received $18,000 and paid McGee $5,000. She pleaded guilty in July, and a judge sentenced her in March to five years’ probation.
- Linda Daniels received $28,500 and paid McGee $8,000 via check and $8,000 in cash. She pleaded guilty in September and awaits sentencing.