Apr 11, 2008 7:41 pm US/Eastern
Woman Pleads Guilty In Plot To Defraud $12M
BALTIMORE (AP) ―
A Virginia woman pleaded guilty Friday to plotting to commit mail fraud and money laundering in a scheme to defraud a company of more than $12 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Georgette A. Richie, 50, of Dillwyn, Va., formerly of Denton, Md., also pleaded guilty to signing a false tax return in the plot to defraud the company where her ex-husband worked.
Phillip M. Richie was named as a co-conspirator, but was not charged. He died in 2004.
According to court document, Phillip Richie worked for AMPORTS, an import-export car processing service with five locations, including in Baltimore.
Georgette Richie, according to a plea agreement, helped her ex-husband create two companies, Webster General Inc. and Geo Tech Systems Inc., using the name and Social Security number of a dead man as president of both companies.
Phillip Richie awarded contracts to those companies; Georgette Richie established Internet bank accounts and prepared checks to pay the subcontractors who performed the work.
Georgette Richie also prepared the tax returns for Webster General and Geo Tech.
AMPORTS paid the two companies more than $12.8 million for construction projects.
The Richies laundered profits by funneling the money to personal bank accounts and limited liability corporations they created.
They invested in real estate on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
AMPORTS suffered a loss of $4,223,356 as a result of the plot, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
Richie agreed to pay restitution in that amount and will forfeit three properties in Dillwyn and Louisa, Va., and property in West Palm Beach, Fla. Sentencing is set for July 11.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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