Government’s Motion for Preliminary Order of Forfeiture — USA v. McCown (Dkt. 11, D. Wyo.)

Summary

The Government's Motion for Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, Document 11, filed May 10, 2022 in United States of America v. Paul McCown, Case Number 22-CR-23-SWS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. It states that on March 10, 2022 the United States filed an Information charging the Defendant with seven counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and that the Defendant signed a plea agreement pleading guilty to all seven counts. It states that the Defendant consented to forfeiture of $13,300,176.73, that the Subject Property seized is $13,290,672.99, which is $9,503.74 less, and lists the amounts seized by bank, including $8,925,000.00 at Notre Dame Federal Credit Union. The government asks the Court to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture under Rule 32.2(b).

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         Case 1:22-cr-00023-SWS Document 11 Filed 05/10/22 Page 1 of 4




Christyne M. Martens WSB #7-5044
Assistant United States Attorney
District of Wyoming
P.O. Box 22211
Casper, WY 82602
307-261-5434 (phone)
307-261-5471 (fax)
christyne.martens@usdoj.gov


                       IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                           FOR THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                       Plaintiff,
        v.                                              Case Number: 22-CR-23-SWS

 PAUL MCCOWN,

                       Defendant.

     GOVERNMENT’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY ORDER OF FORFEITURE

       COMES NOW THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, pursuant to Rule 32.2(b)(2),

Fed. R. Crim. P. and hereby moves the Court to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture as to the

Defendant, Paul McCown. In support of this motion, the government states as follows:

       I. Procedural Background

       On March 10, 2022, the United States filed an Information charging the Defendant with

seven counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. (Doc. 1). The Defendant signed a plea

agreement, pleading guilty to all seven counts contained in the Information. (Docs. 1 and 2).

       The forfeiture allegation contained in the Information notified the Defendant that upon

conviction of any violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 the Defendant “shall forfeit to the United States

pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) any property, real or personal, which

constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offenses. The property to be forfeited by
         Case 1:22-cr-00023-SWS Document 11 Filed 05/10/22 Page 2 of 4




Defendant McCown includes, but is not limited to, a money judgment for the proceeds obtained

by McCown from the schemes to defraud charged in Counts 1-7.” (See Doc. 1 at 7-8).

       In the Defendant’s plea agreement, he consented to the forfeiture of $13,300,176.73. (Doc.

2 at 6). The Defendant admits this Subject Property was involved in the offense(s) of conviction

and is thus forfeitable to the United States. Id. The Defendant relinquishes any right, title and

interest he may have in the Subject Property and agrees that such right, title and interest can be

forfeited to the United States (including the federal investigating agency) without further notice to

him. Id. The Defendant further agrees not to assist any other person(s) in any effort to contest

falsely the forfeiture of the Subject Property. Id. The Subject Property consists of $13,290,672.99.

More specifically, the subject property is an aggregation of amounts seized as follows:

 Bank                       Account ending      Amount Seized
 Fifth Third Bank           061                   $ 351,300.67
 Wyo. Community Bank        957                   $ 699,531.26
 Wyo. Community Bank        668                       $ 969.97
 JP Morgan Chase Bank       221                   $ 500,000.00


 JP Morgan Chase Bank       516                     $ 537,496.26
 Notre Dame Federal         606                   $ 8,925,000.00
 Credit Union
 Central Bank & Trust       868                      $ 838,845.23
 Wells Fargo Bank           428                       $ 10,876.24
 Wells Fargo Bank           012                      $ 739,143.76
 Robert W. Baird & Co       435                      $ 301,129.11
 Robert W. Baird & Co       746                      $ 372,509.60
 Merrill Lynch              284                       $ 13,870.89


       While the Defendant consented to the forfeiture of $13,300,176.73 in the plea agreement

as the subject property seized by the Government, that figure resulted from an error calculating the

seized amounts. (Doc. 2 at 6). The actual amount seized by the Government is $13,290,672.99,




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          Case 1:22-cr-00023-SWS Document 11 Filed 05/10/22 Page 3 of 4




which is $9,503.74 less than the Defendant agreed to forfeit. Thus, this arithmetic error in the plea

agreement does not prejudice the Defendant or otherwise affect these proceedings.

        II. This Court should enter a preliminary order of forfeiture in favor of the United
            States.

        Consistent with the Information and Plea Agreement, the United States now moves

pursuant to Rule 32.2(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)

and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) for the entry of a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, forfeiting to the United

States the Subject Property described above.

        Upon the issuance of a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, the United States will publish

notice of the Order on the Government’s official Internet website, www.forfeiture.gov, and will

send direct notice to any person, other than the Defendant, having or claiming a legal interest in

the Subject Property, advising such person of his or her right to file a petition contesting the

forfeiture in accordance with 21 U.S.C. § 853(n) and Rule 32.2(c). This notice will state that the

petition shall be for a hearing to adjudicate the validity of the petitioner's alleged interest in the

Subject Property, shall be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury and shall set forth the

nature and extent of the petitioner's right, title or interest in the forfeited Subject Property and any

additional facts supporting the petitioner's claim and the relief sought.

        DATED this 10th day of May, 2022.

                                               Respectfully submitted,

                                               L. ROBERT MURRAY
                                               United States Attorney

                                       By:     /s/ Christyne M. Martens
                                               CHRISTYNE M. MARTENS
                                               Assistant United States Attorney




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        Case 1:22-cr-00023-SWS Document 11 Filed 05/10/22 Page 4 of 4




                               CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

      This is to certify that on this 10th day of May, 2022, I served true and correct copies of the

foregoing upon counsel via CM/ECF.




                                             /s/ Lisa Wait
                                             UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE




                                                4


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