Related Federal Cases
- Cody C. Halsey, Wire Fraud, OR 2016 · Georgia
- Willis D Lonn Jr, Mail Fraud, WA 2016 · Washington
- Gregory Walsh, Real Estate Investment Fraud, Oregon 2023 · Arizona
- Jay Byron Wright, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, GA 2024 · South Carolina
- Isaac Benjamin Voss, Wire Fraud, OR 2024 · Washington
Defendant Execs Behind $19M Forest Service Scam
WASHINGTON – Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Oregon was honored by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson at the 32nd annual Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C. for his outstanding work in prosecuting Carson Helicopter, Inc. executives, Steven Metheny and Levi Phillips, for their conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and making false statements in defrauding the United States Forest Service.
In her prepared remarks, Deputy Attorney General Yates said, “The achievements being recognized today reflect the breadth of the department’s responsibilities, and some of our most significant challenges. From dismantling dangerous gangs, drug cartels and human trafficking operations to tackling political corruption, white collar crimes, and international terrorism, these awardees have taken on our toughest cases. And the citizens of our country are safer because of their work.”
Chatfield was nominated for and received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney (Criminal) for his work in the prosecution of Metheny and Phillips, who submitted helicopter contract bids to the Forest Service with falsified weight and balance charts and altered Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) performance charts. These charts were used by the Forest Service in determining whether Carson’s helicopters met minimum contract payload specifications. Contracts in the amount of $51 million were awarded to Carson due to the falsified documents, and it received nearly $19 million dollars before the Forest Service discovered the fraud and cancelled Carson’s contracts.
“Byron Chatfield’s work on this extraordinarily difficult case was exemplary,” said U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams. “He and the team of investigators spent countless hours unraveling the fraud and tackled challenge after challenge in a scheme extremely complex and masterfully concocted. But because of Byron’s strong belief in justice and his determination to hold the two corporate executives personally responsible for their deceit, the victims’ families of this tragedy gained a measure of crucial closure. We as an organization are extremely proud of Byron as a member of the U.S. Attorney family. We salute his courage, dedication, and determination to see that justice is done on a daily basis.”
The District of Oregon was one of 33 districts represented at the ceremony which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.
From left: U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield
Key Facts
- State: Oregon
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News