Deon Dovell Roberts, Train Wreck Conspiracy, South Carolina 2015

A sinister plot to sabotage a train and reap financial rewards has landed a South Carolina man behind bars. Deon Dovell Roberts, 35, of Fairfax, South Carolina was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment in federal court on November 2, 2015 for his role in the Amtrak Wreck Conspiracy.

According to the United States Attorney Bill Nettles, Roberts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud/cause a train wreck/interfere with a train operator and to interfering with the operation of a train, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 1992(a)(6).

The crime took place on September 6, 2013 when Roberts, along with his co-defendant James Duvall Love, parked a car at Bakers Mill Crossing in Allendale, South Carolina, in the path of an oncoming Amtrak passenger train. They then got out of the car prior to the collision, and feigned injury by returning to the car after the collision, all for the purpose of submitting bogus claims for personal injuries and other losses.

During the sentencing hearing, United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs stated that this was “a serious crime” and that Robert’s request for a probationary sentence was not appropriate due to the “significant nature of this crime and potentially what could have happened.”

Roberts was ordered to make restitution to Amtrak in the amount of $46,690.27. His co-defendant, James Duvall Love, also pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud/cause a train wreck/interfere with a train operator and to a separate felon in possession of a firearm charge, and was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment in January 2016.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Amtrak Office of Inspector General, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Fairfax Police Department, and the Allendale County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Klumb and Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the prosecution of the case.

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