WASHINGTON - James Benjamin, 58, of Ellicott City, Maryland, was sentenced Tuesday to sixteen months in prison and ordered to pay $74,500 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman of the District of Columbia. Following his prison term, Benjamin will serve a term of three years of supervised release.
The announcement was made Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 by U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Shea and Timothy M. Dunham, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office.
Previously, on March 28, 2019, Benjamin pled guilty to engaging in a scheme with intent to defraud, and to thereby unlawfully obtaining over $100,000 for his own personal enrichment. Benjamin also pled guilty to making a false statement to the FBI, after the FBI had seized approximately $450,000 that Benjamin had obtained from investors. In connection with the guilty plea, Benjamin admitted that he had falsely told the FBI that the $450,000 had been “held in trust" for the benefit of an investor, when in fact Benjamin kept the funds in his own bank account.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Demian Ahn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case was investigated and indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Demian Ahn and Thomas Swanton, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Jessica McCormick and Chela Okonji.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
