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Posted On: May 22, 2009

Atlanta residents indicted on federal counterfeiting charges for bootleg dvd's

On Thursday, 13 people from the Atlanta area were indicted by a federal grand jury for making and distributing counterfeit DVD movies.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

The 13 allegedly counterfeited movies such as Gran Torino, Changeling, and Dark Knight. They also allegedly pirated recordings of Lil Wayne, Kanye West, T.I., and Robin Thicke.

Most of the defendants are from Atlanta while the others are from Lawrenceville, Fairburn, Austell, Decatur, Lithonia, and Barry. The ages of the defendants range from 24 to 68 years old.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

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Posted In: Federal Criminal Law , Theft and Fraud

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Posted On: May 19, 2009

Athens Georgia criminal gambling and fencing cases may go federal

On Tuesday, police raided 14 stores and homes in Clarke, Oconee, and Gwinnett counties which capped a three-month investigation into fencing and gambling operations.

The Athens Banner-Herald has the story.

Police say that convenience store owners and employees placed orders with criminals to steal certain items from homes, businesses, and vehicles. Authorities grew suspicious when they began finding lists of items on burglars such as specific flat screen televisions and laptops. This fact combined with the high rates of thefts for those goods led to the conclusion that there must be some sort of outlet. After further investigation, police armed themselves with arrest warrants for nine individuals they believed were connected with the fencing rings.

Police also believe some of the businesses ran illegal gambling operations. These businesses allegedly gave cash to customers who played poker machines.

The raids began around 9:30 a.m. at five businesses and two homes in Clarke County, one store and four homes in Oconee County, and two homes in Gwinnett County. The nine suspects were arrested and face 40 criminal charges including theft by receiving and illegal gambling.

Reports state that the suspects may also face state and federal racketeering charges. Federal charges can be brought in theft and fencing cases that involve Interstate commerce, and there are federal laws that regulate certain gambling activities.

If the case goes federal, charges could be brought in either the Northern or Middle Districts of Georgia.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

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Posted In: Federal Criminal Law , Theft and Fraud

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Posted On: May 2, 2009

Federal criminal charges brought against Macon, Georgia residents for their alleged involvement in Ponzi scheme

U.S. Marshals arrested two Macon residents in Colorado on Tuesday for their involvement in a Ponzi scheme which took in over $2 million.

The Macon Telegraph has the story.

Federal authorities have charged both Gary Hutcheson and Saundra McKinney Pyles with five counts of mail fraud and five counts of money laundering in connection with the Ponzi scheme. Generally, each of these charges may carry with it a sentence of up to 20 years.

Authorities believe that between May 2006 and July 2008 the two devised a scheme to defraud individual investors and groups of investors. Hutcheson allegedly created a company called Georgia Ionics Fund and used two securities brokers named CyberTrade Inc. and Cobra Trading to carry out the scheme. Hutcheson is believed to have attracted investors by asking them to place funds in what he called a hedge fund. He also claimed to have expertise in making investments by lauding his past success when in fact he had never succeeded in investing.

The government claims that Hutcheson deposited more than $2.1 million into bank accounts which he received from investors. Of this, he invested only $780,000 and lost the majority of it. In order to convince investors that the fund was successful, Hutcheson paid out $457,000 to certain investors claiming that the money was profit. In fact, the money was simply a return of the investor’s own money or money which was acquired from new investors. In the end, authorities believe he kept more than $1.3 million for himself.

Even though Hutcheson and Pyles did not make any profits, the government claims that they falsely represented that profits were being made and that the fund was successful. The two now await extradition proceedings from Colorado to Georgia.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

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Posted In: Federal Criminal Law , Theft and Fraud

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« April 2009 | | June 2009 »

Contributors

Page Pate
Page Pate is an accomplished trial lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody. Page was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association, and is a frequent commentator on Georgia and federal criminal procedure for the local media...

Bernard Brody
Bernard Brody is an experienced trial and appellate criminal defense lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody...

Jess Johnson
Jess Johnson graduated first in his class from the University of Georgia in 2006, where he attained degrees in political science and sociology...

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