Scott Brettschneider, Conspiracy and False Statements, New York 2023

A federal jury in Brooklyn has convicted Scott Brettschneider, a 62-year-old criminal defense attorney from North Carolina, of conspiring to make a false statement and making a false statement to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

The verdict was announced by Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. According to the indictment, Brettschneider wrote a false letter to the BOP to assist an inmate in gaining entry to a substance abuse program in order to fraudulently obtain an early release from prison.

The evidence at trial proved that between October 2014 and January 2015, Brettschneider, Charles Gallman and Reginald Shabazz-Muhammad conspired to make false statements in a letter to a BOP employee regarding inmate Richard Marshall’s treatment for substance and alcohol abuse in an effort to help Marshall fraudulently gain entry to the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) at United States Penitentiary Lewisburg in Pennsylvania.

Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements, and was sentenced on October 6, 2018 to three years’ probation and a fine of $1,500. Shabazz-Muhammad pleaded guilty to making false statements, and was sentenced on January 30, 2019 to two years’ probation and a fine of $1,000. Gallman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements and to violating the Travel Act for bribing a witness, and was sentenced on March 20, 2019 to three years’ imprisonment.

Brettschneider faces up to five years in prison when sentenced. The government’s case was handled by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrey Spektor, Lindsay K. Gerdes and Margaret Gandy are in charge of the prosecution.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrey Spektor, Lindsay K. Gerdes and Margaret Gandy are in charge of the prosecution.

Brettschneider’s conviction marks a significant blow to the integrity of federal programs for drug abuse treatment, and serves as a reminder that those who seek to exploit these programs for their own gain will be held accountable.