The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on April 30, 2008, Laura Zipprich, 41, of Bennington was sentenced to one month in prison and three months of home confinement for wire fraud. After completing her sentence, the defendant will serve a three-year term of supervised release. The defendant will also be required to make restitution and pay a $100 special assessment. The defendant appeared before the Honorable J. Garvan Murtha in United States District Court in Rutland for sentencing. She will begin serving her sentence on July 22, 2008.
According to court documents, the defendant committed three acts of fraud. On May 12, 2004, she used the identity of a family member to obtain a $10,000 loan from BankNorth. The Bank did not know that the defendant was obtaining this loan without the family member's knowledge and consent. She used the proceeds to pay her personal expenses. She made few payments on the loan and, when BankNorth learned of the fraud, the balance of the loan was over $9,900.
The following September, the defendant transferred a residence in Winhall to the same relative. Without telling the relative, the defendant obtained a mortgage on the property in the amount of $135,200 from GMAC Mortgage. When the closing occurred, the defendant received more than $54,000, which was wired to her attorney and then provided to her. She used these funds for personal expenses.
In November, 2004, the defendant applied for a Discover Card over the internet using this same relative's personal information, including her Social Security Number. Because the relative already had a Discover Card, the fraud prevention unit contacted the relative and told her of the internet application. The relative stated that she had not given permission to the defendant to use her personal information. The application was rejected and the relative requested a credit report. She then learned of the existence of the BankNorth loan and the GMAC mortgage, both of which were in arrears.
Under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant faced a guideline range of 8 to 14 months of imprisonment. The government asked the Court to impose a guideline sentence, but the Court imposed a non-guideline sentence in part because the defendant has custody of two young children.
The defendant was ordered to pay restitution of $9,911.97 to BankNorth. GMAC has since sold the property in Winhall and the Court ordered restitution of $45,200, which represented the unpaid balance of the mortgage.
United States Attorney Thomas D. Anderson thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigated the case. The defendant was represented by Barry Griffith, Esq. and William Kramm, Esq. Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Creswell and Elizabeth Woodcock prosecuted the case for the United States. |
