Transcript of Proceedings (Unredacted) of change of plea held on 12-7-21 — USA v. Thomas (Dkt. 119, N.D. Okla.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma · No. 4:21-cr-00239-GKF · Doc. 119 · 2022-06-28 · Docket on CourtListener

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  )
                           )
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                           )
                           )
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               Plaintiff,  )
                           )
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vs.                        )        CASE NO. 21-CR-239-GKF
                           )
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                           )
ALETA NECOLE THOMAS,       )
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                           )
                           )
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               Defendant.  )
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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
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 DECEMBER 7, 2021
BEFORE THE HONORABLE BILLY ROY WILSON
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
CHANGE-OF-PLEA HEARING
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APPEARANCES:
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For the Plaintiff:               MS. KRISTIN HARRINGTON
                                 U.S. Attorney's Office
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                                 110 W. 7th St., Ste 300
                                 Tulsa, OK 74119
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For the Defendant:               MR. KEITH WARD
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                                 Keith A. Ward PLLC
                                 1874 S. Boulder Ave.
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                            Tulsa, OK 74119
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Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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PROCEEDINGS 
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DECEMBER 7, 2021:
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THE COURT:  Parties ready?
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Yes, Your Honor.
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THE COURT:  All right.
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MR. WARD:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  We're here in United States against Aleta 
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Necole Thomas, case number 4:21-CR-00239-1.  Ms. Thomas is 
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present in court with her lawyer Mr. Ward.  The prosecution is  
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represented by Ms. Harrington.  And I understand Ms. Williams 
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is at counsel table with you?  
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Yes, yes.  
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THE COURT:  All right.  If you-all will come around, 
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please.
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Can you swear the defendant, please.
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(DEFENDANT SWORN.)
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THE COURT:  Since you're under oath, if you told me 
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anything that wasn't true, you'd be subject to being prosecuted 
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for perjury or false statement.  Do you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  I warn you not because I think you're 
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going to tell me anything that's not true, but I'm obliged to 
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warn you.  
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What is your full name?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Aleta Necole Thomas.
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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THE COURT:  All right.  How old are you?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Forty-three.
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THE COURT:  How much education do you have?  You'll 
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need to drop your mask so I can understand you better.
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THE DEFENDANT:  I went to the twelfth grade, but I 
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didn't graduate.
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THE COURT:  Do you read, write, and understand 
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English well?  
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Are you taking any medication that might 
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affect your thinking today?
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THE DEFENDANT:  No, sir.
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THE COURT:  Are you under the influence of any kind 
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of drug, alcohol, or anything that would affect your thinking?
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THE DEFENDANT:  No, sir.
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THE COURT:  Your mind is clear?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Have you had all the time you need to 
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talk to your lawyer about what it means to plead guilty to 
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these allegations against you?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Have you gone over the federal sentencing 
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guidelines carefully with your lawyer?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Feel like you understand them in a 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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general way?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  All right.  Have you had a meaningful 
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conversation with your client today?
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MR. WARD:  Not today; we met yesterday.
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THE COURT:  You feel like she's fully at herself 
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today?
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MR. WARD:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Feel like she understands the guidelines 
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in a general way?
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MR. WARD:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  I find that Ms. Thomas is competent to go 
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forward with the proposed plea.  
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Are you satisfied with Mr. Ward as your lawyer?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Hundred percent?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  If you weren't satisfied any way 
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whatsoever, now would be the time to tell me.  Do you 
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understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  All right.  I believe this is the second 
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superseding indictment.  On Count 3, on May the 27th, 2020, in 
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the Northern District of Oklahoma, Ms. Thomas made false 
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statements and reports to influence the action of a financial 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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institution, Cross River Bank, upon an application and loan in 
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violation of the United States Code, Section 1041.  
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Count 4.  On June 16, 2020, in the Northern District of 
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Oklahoma, Ms. Thomas made false statements and reports to 
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influence the action of a financial institution, First 
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Electronic Bank, upon an application and loan in violation of 
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U.S.C., Section 1014.  
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For both Counts 3 and 4, the maximum penalties are not 
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more than 30 years imprisonment, a $1 million fine, or both of 
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those maximums; a special assessment of $100 is mandatory; 
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supervised release of not more than five years.
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Do I have the penalties right?  
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Yes, Your Honor.  I would just 
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clarify for the record that Ms. Thomas is charged in violation 
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of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014 in both Counts 3 
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and Count 4.  I heard as to Count 3, Section 1041, but I just 
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want to make sure that that's correct.  
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THE COURT:  Do you agree with that?
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MR. WARD:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Okay.  All right.  You can plead guilty, 
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not guilty, or with the consent of the court you can plead no 
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contest.  If you plead not guilty, there's certain rights.  You 
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have a right to a lawyer.  You have your lawyer here with you.  
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You'd have him with you at every critical stage of the 
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proceeding, including at a jury trial, that would be before 12 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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randomly selected voters of this division of this district.  
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At jury trial, you could confront your accusers, you'd see 
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the people on the stand that say you violated the law, and 
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through your lawyer you'd cross-examine them, you and your 
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lawyer could examine other evidence offered by the prosecutor 
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to see if you think an objection would be in order.  
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And when the prosecution rested its case, if you wanted 
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to, but only if you wanted to, you could present evidence.  I 
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say only if you wanted to, because you don't have to prove 
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anything or introduce any evidence whatsoever.  The prosecution 
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has a burden of proving you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 
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throughout the trial, and there's no burden on you to introduce 
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anything or submit any evidence or prove anything.  Do you 
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understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  At the trial, if you wanted to, I said if 
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you wanted to, you could present evidence, you could.  You 
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could be sworn and testify in your own defense or you could -- 
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and you and your lawyer could get out subpoenas, force people 
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to come to testify and you could offer other evidence.  And if 
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-- on the other hand, you could offer other evidence but you 
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could remain silent if you wanted to, because you have that 
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right under the Fifth Amendment, and if you remain silent, the 
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prosecutor couldn't say anything negative about it in front of 
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the jury.  And if you and your lawyer asked me, I would 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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instruct the jury that they couldn't hold that -- that it 
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couldn't hold it against you in any way, the fact that you had 
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remained silent, but if you plead guilty and I accept that plea 
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of guilty, you lose all those rights, because a plea of guilty 
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in open court is the strongest proof known to law.  
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And if you plead guilty and I accept it, you'll be 
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convicted on that plea and there won't be any other proceedings 
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to determine whether or not you're guilty; we go on to 
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sentencing.  Do you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  And to a certain extent you give up your  
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-- if you plead guilty, you give up your right against 
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self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment because I'm going 
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to ask the prosecutor to tell us what she thinks she could 
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prove against you, and I'm going to ask you some questions 
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about that and you'll be obliged to answer me.  Do you 
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understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Now, the guidelines are kind of 
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complicated.  And the presentence report will come up with a 
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sentencing guideline range.  That's a window which I've got to 
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consider sentencing you in, I'm not bound by it, but I've got 
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to consider it.  And if your sentencing guideline range turns 
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out to be larger than you thought it was going to be, that will 
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not give you the right to withdraw your plea of guilty.  Do you 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Now, if you get a term in the federal 
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correction institution, you'll undoubtedly get a term of 
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supervised release after you get out of the FCI, and if you 
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violate a term or a condition of supervised release, get 
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charged with that and convicted of that, you'll get a separate 
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sentence and it will be stacked on top of whatever you get for 
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these basic charges.  Do you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  I understand there's a considerable 
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amount of restitution; is that correct?
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Yes, Your Honor.
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THE COURT:  Do you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  All right.  I have read over the plea 
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agreement.  Have you been over every line in that plea 
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agreement with your lawyer?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Do you feel like you understand the plea 
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agreement?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Do you understand that you waive a whole 
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lot of rights in the plea agreement?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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THE COURT:  You give up your right to plea -- to 
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appeal, you give up your right to -- in most instances to 
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plea -- you give up your right to appeal unless my sentence is 
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more than the statute allows, but you give up your right to 
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collaterally attack the sentence itself, incompetent counsel, 
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prosecutorial abuse, and there are a lot of other waivers.  
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You've been over all of them and you understand them?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Does the prosecutor think there are any 
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other waivers I need to talk about?
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MS. HARRINGTON:  That covers the primary waivers, 
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Your Honor, yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  Do you think this plea agreement is in 
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your best interest?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  And there's no other agreement that gets 
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you to plead guilty other than this written plea agreement; is 
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that right?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  No threats against you to get you to 
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plead guilty?
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THE DEFENDANT:  No, sir.
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THE COURT:  All right.  I want to tentatively accept 
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the plea agreement.  I'll mark it as Court's Exhibit A and A-1.  
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I say "tentatively," because if something comes up in the 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
9
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presentence report or otherwise get information that makes me 
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think that I should not have accepted the plea agreement, I 
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reserve the right to withdraw my approval, but if I do that, I 
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will give you the right to withdraw your plea of guilty.  Do 
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you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
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THE COURT:  All right.  If you-all will stand to one 
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side, we'll have the prosecutor come up and tell us what she 
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thinks she can prove if this case went to trial.
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Thank you, Your Honor.  The 
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government at this time would move to incorporate by reference 
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the factual basis contained in the written plea agreement as 
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set forth on page 12 of the written plea agreement.  In 
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summation, the government would submit that if this case were 
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to go to jury trial, the government would present evidence to 
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show that on or about May 27, 2020, in the Northern District of 
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Oklahoma, Ms. Thomas made false statements and reports for the 
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purpose of influencing Cross River Bank, which was also known 
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as Blue Fin Capital Inc., which was federally insured on a 
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Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loan application by 
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knowingly and intentionally submitting a PPP borrower 
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application form that falsely stated that Coming Correct 
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Community Ministry had an average monthly payroll of $35,000; 
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had 26 employees, and an Employer Identification Number of   
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10-9690847.  
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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Ms. Thomas further certified falsely that this business 
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was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for 
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whom it paid payroll taxes or independent contractors as 
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reported on 1099 forms.  
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Ms. Thomas also knowingly and intentionally falsely 
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certified that all of the information contained in the borrower 
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application was true and correct, and that all of the 
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information contained in the supporting documentation was true 
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and correct.
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Moving on to Count 4 of the second superseding indictment.  
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The government anticipates that the evidence would show on June 
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16, 2020, in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Ms. Thomas 
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falsely stated and reported for the purpose of influencing 
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First Electronic Bank, also known as Fundbox, which was 
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federally insured on a Paycheck Protection Program loan 
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application, Ms. Thomas falsely stated that Coming Correct 
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Ministries II had an average monthly payroll of $45,000; had 25 
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employees, and was in operation on February 15 of 2020 and had 
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employees for whom it paid payroll taxes or independent 
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contractors as indicated on IRS Form 1099.  
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Additionally, Ms. Thomas knowingly and intentionally 
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falsely stated to First Electronic Bank that all of the 
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information in her borrower application form and all the 
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supporting documentation was true and correct.
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And that's the sum and substance of the case, Your Honor.
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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THE COURT:  What happened to the money?  Does she 
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still have the money?
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Your Honor, in this case the 
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government was able to seize about $220,000.  That's the 
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subject of the forfeiture provisions that are contained in the 
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written plea agreement.  A number -- quite a bit of the money 
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was withdrawn in large cash withdrawals.  Quite a bit of the 
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money was used to purchase consumer products and food items.  A 
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large portion of it was used to pay rent in advance, some one 
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or two years in advance.  Other amounts of money was used to 
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gamble in casinos.  And some of it the government does not know 
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the whereabouts of that money.
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THE COURT:  Did she win in the casinos?
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MS. HARRINGTON:  I'm not sure I'm in a position to 
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answer that.  I believe some, yes, Your Honor; I believe in 
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other instances not.  In any case...
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THE COURT:  Thank you.
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MS. HARRINGTON:  You're welcome.
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THE COURT:  Will you-all come back around, please.
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Ms. Thomas, do you have any questions of me or do you want 
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a recess to talk to your lawyer some more before I ask you how 
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you plead?
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THE DEFENDANT:  No.
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THE COURT:  How do you plead to the counts I 
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mentioned earlier?
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
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THE DEFENDANT:  Guilty.
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THE COURT:  Is that because you are in truth and in 
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fact guilty?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Could you hear what the prosecutor said 
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she could prove against you?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Is that accurate?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Hundred percent?
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THE DEFENDANT:  I didn't gamble the money away.  No, 
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I didn't gamble the money away.  It was not used at casinos.  
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THE COURT:  You don't -- do what now?  
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THE DEFENDANT:  I did not gamble the money at 
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casinos.
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THE COURT:  But everything else she said was true?
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THE DEFENDANT:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  Okay.  Do you know of any reason I 
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shouldn't accept this plea of guilty?
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THE DEFENDANT:  No.
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MR. WARD:  No, sir, I know of no reason.  
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THE COURT:  Okay.  I find that the offenses charged 
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in Counts 3 and 4 were committed, and that Ms. Thomas who is 
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before me actually committed the crime.  I further find that 
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she's entering this plea voluntary, with full knowledge of 
Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
13
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facts, and the plea of guilty is accepted.  
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When will the sentencing be?  
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THE DEPUTY COURT CLERK:  May 25th, '22 at 11:30 a.m.
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THE COURT:  All right.  May the 25th, 2022 at 
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11:30 a.m.  Is that satisfactory with the defense?  
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MR. WARD:  Yes.
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THE COURT:  The prosecution?  
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MS. HARRINGTON:  Yes, Your Honor.
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THE COURT:  All right.  Is there anything else we 
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need to tend to?  
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MS. HARRINGTON:  No, sir.  
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MR. WARD:  No, sir.
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THE COURT:  We're in recess.  You all can be at ease.  
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Thank you.
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MR. WARD:  Will you be conducting the sentencing, 
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Your Honor?
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THE COURT:  Beg your pardon?
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MR. WARD:  Will you be conducting the sentencing?
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THE COURT:  Yes.
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MR. WARD:  Okay.
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(PROCEEDINGS CONCLUDED.)
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Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
14
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REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
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I CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING IS A TRUE AND CORRECT 
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TRANSCRIPT OF THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE ABOVE-ENTITLED 
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MATTER.
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                              S/Terri Beeler
                              Terri Beeler, RMR,FCRR 
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                              United States Court Reporter
                              333 W. 4th Street
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Tulsa, OK 74103
                              (918)699-4877
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                              terri_beeler@oknd.uscourts.gov
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Terri Beeler, RMR-FCRR
U.S. District Court - NDOK
15
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