David T. Odom, Wire Fraud, Maryland 2017

Chicago Man Sentenced for Wire Fraud in Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland – On October 12, 2017, United States District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced David T. Odom, age 53, of Chicago, Illinois to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for a wire fraud conspiracy arising from a scheme to defraud lenders in order to obtain bridge financing for a movie.

According to court documents, Odom owned CityScope Productions, LLC, and was seeking financing to produce the movie 'Season Tickets.' Odom met Darryl Clements through an attorney in New York, who created documents falsely stating that CityScope had permanent financing of $13 million for the movie from Bridge Capital and The Shah Group.

Clements created email accounts which appeared to belong to Dunn and The Shah Group, but which Clements actually controlled. In February 2011, Dunn purchased five cashiers' checks from his employer bank, each for $20 and made payable to Clements. Clements then altered the checks so that they totaled $4 million, the payees were individuals and entities affiliated with the movie, and 'The Shah Group,' was the remitter.

Odom sought financing from multiple lenders, including an unsuccessful attempt thwarted by the prospective lender's local counsel in Baltimore. Among other things, Clements created a fictitious bank statement for a purported escrow account, which Odom admitted he sent to a prospective lender.

In a telephone call on May 9, 2011, Clements posed as Dunn and fraudulently verified the account numbers and balances of the phony escrow accounts to an official of a California company which specialized in providing bridge financing for movies. On the same day, the California finance company loaned $2.5 million to CityScope and transmitted the funds by wire, specifying that the funds were to be used solely for movie expenses.

Odom's house was sold in a foreclosure proceeding to the mortgage lender, and Odom was faced with moving or eviction. Odom admitted that he used the $2.5 million loaned by the California finance company to pay off the mortgage and purchase a new residence.

The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and Eric M. Thorson, Inspector General for the Department of the Treasury.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/chicago-man-sentenced-30-months-federal-prison-wire-fraud