HAMMOND - Robert Watkins, 32 years old, of Porter, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after pleading guilty, announced United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II.
Watkins received a sentence of 15 months imprisonment and was ordered to pay $1,291,030 in restitution to Arcelor Mittal.
According to documents in the case, Watkins pled guilty to three counts of Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property because, between September 2013 and March 2014, Watkins and others stole a metal alloy called Ferro Columbium from Arcelor Mittal’s property and transported it across state lines to sell for profit.
This case was investigated by the FBI GRIT Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
