Grimy Times Exclusive
Buffalo, NY – In a shocking turn of events, 67-year-old Amherst resident Steven Blumhagen has pleaded guilty to bank theft, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
According to court documents, Blumhagen stole money from JP Morgan Chase Bank on June 13, 2003, by convincing an individual identified as R.K. to wire transfer $1,000 to an account controlled by the defendant at JP Morgan Chase. Blumhagen falsely represented to R.K. that the funds would be used to pay ‘advance fees’ in connection with a purported bond offering that would allegedly generate large sums of money for R.K. and others.
However, Blumhagen used the funds to pay personal expenses rather than to pay fees associated with the alleged bond offering. The defendant must also pay restitution totaling $1,275,500 to 19 victims.
This latest guilty plea comes after Blumhagen was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in 2006 and sentenced to serve 57 months in federal prison for his role in defrauding investors in Tee-to-Green Golf Parks, Inc. (Tee-to-Green) out of approximately $2,500,000. Blumhagen was the president of Tee to Green from 1993 through 2000 and controlled the day-to-day operations and was intimately involved in the sale of Tee-to-Green promissory notes.
The conduct which is the subject of the bank theft plea occurred after Blumhagen’s fraud relating to the Tee-to-Green promissory notes.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert. Sentencing is scheduled for September 12, 2018, before Judge William M. Skretny.
Contact: Barbara Burns, (716) 843-5817, (716) 551-3051
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime