Jared Castellaw, 34, Alpine, California, and Valerie Schones, 54, Tucson, Arizona, were sentenced on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 for their role in making false statements to a financial institution.
According to court documents, beginning in or around October 2008 and continuing to on or about May 2009, Castellaw and Schones, along with co-defendant Patrick Healey, made false statements to the Federal Housing Administration “FHA” in order to assist low-income borrowers in qualifying for FHA insured loans that they would not otherwise have qualified for. Healey and Castellaw are former employees of an undisclosed entity, ABC Homes, LLC, located in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Schones worked for XYZ Financial as a loan officer. In total, due to the acts of the defendants, the FHA suffered a loss in excess of $852,415.
Both Castellaw and Schones were sentenced to time served, supervised release of 5 years, a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $852,415.16.
U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharan E. Lieberman and Edward J. Rivera.
24 July 2019
I assume these were felonies. I think they lose their right to vote And if they testify in court proceedings they are deemed to lack credibility. Can you add to this, elaborate, etc.? Rob Robertson, Austin, Texas.
Yes, these are felonies. State law governs whether a felon can vote. Here is a list: https://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000286.
The affect of a conviction on testimony is court dependent. There is generally a presumption that affects credibility and the conviction can be entered into evidence for purposes of impeachment. Ultimately, the judge or jury determines credibility – a felony conviction is just one piece of evidence that goes to the credibility of the witness – but, depending on the underlying crime, it can be very persuasive evidence.