Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Forgery, State Prison Escape
A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to forging a federal judge’s signature to escape from prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced.
Kevin William Small, 50, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, escape, forging judicial signatures, use of a counterfeit seal and possession of a counterfeit seal in Harrisburg before United States District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Small was convicted of four counts of filing false tax claims in 2007 and was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison. However, Small was released from state prison on January 5, 2012, after a document purporting to be signed and sealed by Judge Christopher C. Conner and the Clerk of Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania stated that his federal conviction had been vacated.
The escape was discovered when a federal agent called the state prison on March 8, 2012, and learned that Small had been released to the street on January 5, 2012.
Small was located by the U.S. Marshals Service and arrested in a residence in Philadelphia on March 5, 2012. Many documents that appeared to be forged or fraudulent were seized from the residence at the time of his arrest, including partially-prepared court documents that purportedly freed other state prisoners.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. A superseding indictment was returned in December 2012, and Small faces a maximum penalty of 40 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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