Can't say as I'm laughing, but seeing a Ponzi princess lose everything is a nice turn of events.
Attachment 13130
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Can't say as I'm laughing, but seeing a Ponzi princess lose everything is a nice turn of events.
Attachment 13130
As much as I realize that the incredibly slow pace of the justice system in the USA is due to the focus on giving people charged with a crime every opportunity to defend themselves, I hope Troy Barnes' criminal trial gets pleaded out or otherwise wrapped up soon so that Kristi Johnson can have her turn at facing prison time.
I noticed this judicial conclusion of a $2 million + Ponzi scheme in Mississippi and found myself thinking that the crime, the timeline and the sentence probably reflect what will become of the Achieve Community ringleaders.
From the same Clarion-Ledger source dated August 31, 2014:
"The daughter of a prominent Rankin County Baptist preacher and sister of a powerful Lamar County chancery judge violated both Scripture and law with a statewide scam bilking Mississippi residents of their life savings before fleeing to California where she hid in plain sight.
Gina (aka Tammi) Palasini owes more than $1 million in state and federal taxes, bad checks and broken promises from a series of startups targeting senior citizens, according to an investigation by The Clarion-Ledger that examined the woman's financial, business and criminal history"
August 2014 to August 2016.
Two years.
Six and a half year sentence for bilking senior citizens out of over $2 million.
... "Praise the Lord"
SD
.
Troy Barnes trial is slated to be set by the court in their September calendar so expect to hear a trial date within the next 7-10 days. Last word was Kristi was still living in the basement of one of her victims until her sentencing, which won't happen until after Troy's trial has ended.
"Pending a plea agreement, Judge Cogburn has rescheduled Barnes’ trial for the 21st of November."
Troy Barnes enters plea negotiations with DOJ (Achieve Community)
"Initially Barnes maintained his innocence and opted to go to trial. This appears to have been dropped, with news last week that he was looking to strike a plea deal.
A plea hearing has been scheduled for November 4th, after which we’ll have an update on whether Barnes plea has been accepted or not."
Troy Barnes plea agreement filed, hearing on November 4th
"Following on from a plea agreement filed under seal on October 25th, Troy Barnes has officially plead guilty to wire fraud."
Troy Barnes pleads guilty to wire fraud (Achieve Community)
Kristi Johnson sentencing hearing scheduled for February 14th...
Kristi Johnson sentencing hearing scheduled for February 14th
Patrick Pretty is reporting:
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You can read the original article here at PATRICKPRETTY.com
Kristi's sentence isn't long enough; but, there's no parole in Federal prison. The most she can get shaved off her sentence for good behavior is 54 days; and, that's only after serving a year...
I see it as very much a case of "you can't get blood from a stone"
As reported by Oz, over on BEHINDMLM.com
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Right down to the last twenty five bucks in an account, and she'll still have a $4.7million dollar forfeiture judgement hanging over her head when she gets out.
I think she only got 21 months because of her working with the authorities against her partner Troy Barnes. She threw him under the bus early on in her case. It will definitely be interesting to see what kind of sentence Troy receives for his role in this. It might give us a clue as to how much help Kristi gave the authorities in his case. he was his own worse enemy as he tried to ignore all the subpoenas and court appearances. I guess he thought if he didn't respond, they would go away.
At the rate his sentencing hearing date is going, it may be May before he is sentenced.
they used the super secret triple algorithm to figure out the sentence length.
As per a judgement order by Judge Cogburn, Johnson has been sentenced to 21 months in prison, as well as $302,297 in restitution.
Kristine Johnson sentenced to 21 months in prison & $302,297 restitution
Update 3rd March 2017 – On February 28th Troy Barnes sentencing was scheduled for March 15th.
On March 1st his lawyer filed a sealed motion requesting a continuance. Don’t know why as the filing is sealed.
As at the time of publication a decision on the continuance has yet to be made.
Kristine Johnson sentenced to 21 months & $302,297 restitution
"Barnes, 53, of Riverview Mich., now has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, the office of U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose announced. Johnson, of Colorado, earlier was sentenced to 21 months."
Troy Barnes, ‘Achieve Community’ Ponzi Schemer, Sentenced To 33 Months
Now they can take the civil trials off of hold and finish them for Kristi and Troy. Then hopefully a Receiver will be appointed and the ill-gotten gains can be returned to the victims. I also hope the Receiver, when appointed, will go after the big winners and make them give it back as well.
This still has a long ways to go before it is done.
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United States Attorneys' Office Western District of North Carolina
not enough , equal to the slap on the wrist