Shane Ryan Hammond, Impersonation, Kidnapping, Wire Fraud, Ohio 2017

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Hilliard man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $48,000 in restitution for impersonating a federal agent, kidnapping, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.

Shane Ryan Hammond, 27, of Hilliard, Ohio, was sentenced on [no specific date given] in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $48,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, from at least March 2016 until May 2017, Hammond owned and operated "Midwest Fugitive Task Force" located in Columbus. In this capacity, he was often referred to as Commander or Lieutenant Hammond and sought out employment opportunities as a bail recovery agent for himself and other employees.

Hammond was not actually licensed as a bounty hunter, nevertheless, on at least nine occasions, Hammond knowingly and unlawfully kidnapped a person for reward. All of these individuals but one were considered "bail skips" and Hammond had been hired by a bail bondsman in West Virginia to apprehend the individuals and return them to a designated jail facility for a monetary reward.

For example, in May 2017, Hammond kidnapped an individual outside of the individual's grandmother's home in Columbus. He pushed himself into the grandmother's residence, heavily armed, and ran to the male individual with his AK47 up and pulled out his Taser. He ordered the individual to the ground, kicked the individual's drink and threatened the individual not to do "anything stupid" or he would get hurt.

As another example, when searching for a female in Canton, Ohio in September 2016, Hammond handcuffed the individual's mother after forcibly entering the home and pointing a rifle at her. He indicated he was a Federal Bounty Hunter and told her she had the right to remain silent.

Hammond routinely represented himself to others as a member of law enforcement, pretending to be a member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, working with Homeland Security, a SWAT officer and a federal agent, generally.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/hilliard-man-who-pretended-be-bounty-hunter-federal-agent-sentenced-15-years-prison