US v. Reid, 09-cr-00320-CMH (E.D. Va. 2009)
Michael Reid has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud with a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment after being caught stealing almost $500,000 from the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Reid has agreed to cooperate in the investigation of his former USPTO employee accomplice – known in the pleadings as Ms. K.L.P. and identified as a financial analyst in charge of the customer deposit funds. K.L.P. has apparently not yet been charged.
According to the stipulated facts, the pair raided dormant PTO deposit accounts of customers who had not responded to PTO inquiries.
K.L.P. engaged in 32 fraudulent transfers, 27 in which the defendant received funds. The total amount of the 32 transactions was $534,338.55. The total amount for the 27 transactions involving the defendant was $451,252.17.
The fraudulent transfers apparently occurred from 1998 through September 2005 when K.L.P. left the PTO. Reed is the minister of music at a Maryland church. The court has not yet scheduled sentencing.
Notes:
- File Attachment: Reid.Facts.pdf (132 KB)
- File Attachment: Reid.Release.pdf (97 KB)
- Washington Examiner Article by Freeman Klopott
- The photo (right) is taken from Reid's MySpace page.
