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Former Mariners Admit to Facilitating Coast Guard Bribery
NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the guilty pleas of two middlemen in a test score-fixing scheme at a United States Coast Guard exam center, bringing the total number of defendants convicted in this case to 21.
Former mariners Alexis Bell and Micheal Wooten pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. They admitted to acting as an intermediary between co-defendant Beverly McCrary and merchant mariners who were willing to pay for false passing exam scores. McCrary is accused of participating in the scheme while she was employed by the Coast Guard exam center and continuing after her retirement.
Bell and Wooten acknowledged that they would take money from mariners and then pay McCrary for the false scores. They understood that McCrary would keep a portion of that money and use the rest to bribe another exam center employee to enter the scores. Bell admitted that, in addition to assisting eleven other mariners in obtaining false scores, he also had his own scores fixed on three occasions. Wooten admitted that, in addition to assisting nine other mariners in obtaining false scores, he also had his own scores fixed.
All of these false scores resulted in the Coast Guard issuing unearned licenses without the required exams being passed. The exams tested mariners’ knowledge and training to safely operate under the authority of licenses, which were legally required to work various positions on vessels.
The Honorable Barry W. Ashe presided over Bell’s guilty plea on April 1, 2021, and set a sentencing date of July 8, 2021. Judge Ashe took Wooten’s guilty plea on April 15 and set sentencing for July 22, 2021. The maximum penalty for each defendant is five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
On April 15, Judge Ashe also sentenced the first three defendants to plead guilty in this case, Anthony Brown, David Galvan, and Cardell Hughes. Each of the three had pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining a mariner license and received a sentence of one year of probation, along with 100 hours of community service.
This case is being investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon is in charge of the prosecution.
Defendant Information:
- Defendant: Alexis Bell
- Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
- City and State: New Orleans, LA
- Date: April 1, 2021 (sentencing)
- Sentence: Maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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