DENVER - Donald and Karlien Winberg, of Earth, Texas, were sentenced today in separate hearings by U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer to serve prison sentences for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Donald Winberg, age 44, was ordered to serve 87 months (over 7 years) in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release. Karlien Winberg, age 33, was ordered to serve 87 months (over 7 years) in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release in a separate sentencing hearing. Both defendants were ordered to pay $1,541,689.90 in restitution joint and several. The defendants appeared at the sentencing hearings in custody. Each was remanded after their individual hearing concluded.
The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on April 22, 2014. In October 2014, as the case was moving toward trial, the Winbergs fled, at one point staying in the Galveston, Texas area. The defendants purchased a sail boat that they then ran aground not far from the shore. At that time it was believed that they had a large amount of cash. Around that same time, the defendants were the subject of local publicity in the Galveston area. The Winbergs, who were traveling with their seven children, were able to obtain another boat and successfully travelled to the Bahamas. They were arrested without incident on a boat near the Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Bahamas for failing to have proper identification and travel documents. The arrest was made by Bahamian authorities after a Louisiana family vacationing in the Bahamas recognized the family from a press story out of Galveston. The defendants failed to provide identification documents, and the Bahamian authorities, knowing about the federal arrest warrants, arrested the two defendants. They were then deported back to the United States via Miami, where they were arrested. The Winbergs were ultimately ordered to be transported to Colorado, which was accomplished by the U.S. Marshals Service. A superseding indictment was obtained on Feb. 11, 2015. Donald and Karlien Winberg both pled guilty on April 16, 2015. They were sentenced on Aug. 14, 2015.
According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, the Winbergs, beginning in 2010, advertised on the internet that they had hay and corn for sale. Once a potential buyer contacted the defendants, a sale would be negotiated. Defendants claimed to buyers that they owned extensive farmland in Idaho and Texas; that they produced hay, straw, potatoes, and other agricultural crops in substantial quantities; that they shipped large quantities of agricultural products throughout the United States; that they had between 15,000 and 65,000 tons of hay for sale; and that they had trucks to deliver the large quantities of purchased hay or corn to the buyer. The defendants would then take the victims’ money and not deliver the material that was advertised, purchased and promised. While under pretrial supervision of the U.S. Probation Office, between May 2014 and until fleeing in October 2014, the defendants committed additional fraud against hay sellers.
This case was originally investigated by the FBI. The FBI wants to recognize the following agencies that assisted in the investigation and prosecution of the Winbergs: Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection, American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
The defendants were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Davies. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
