US v. Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick
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US v. Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick |
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NHTSA/Odometer Fraud (CLOSED) Most Recent Update: 10/17/05 (See end of document) United States v. Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick, Crim. No. 05-139 (S.D. Texas) Update 4/6/05: On March 30, 2005, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas indicted Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick, of Houston, with one count of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of odometer tampering. All of the counts stem from an alleged scheme to defraud consumers by selling vehicles with false, low mileages. On April 4, 2005, Kirkpatrick appeared before a magistrate judge and pled not guilty. He was released on bond. The Court is expected to set a trial date soon. Updates will be posted to this web page as information is made available by the Court. Charges contained in the indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence. Update 7/11/05: On May 12, 2005, Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick pled guilty to counts 1, 4, and 5 of the Indictment. The first count, conspiracy, related to an odometer rollback scheme involving James Clyburn, who was sentenced in Houston on March 30, 2005. Counts 4 and 5 charged odometer tampering with respect to two specific vehicles. In his Plea Agreement, Kirkpatrick acknowledged clocking vehicles for Clyburn and stated that he knew Clyburn intended to sell the vehicles.
Sentencing, originally scheduled for August 12, 2005, has been rescheduled to August 26, 2005 at 10:30 a.m. The sentencing will be held before Judge Keith P. Ellison at the United States Courthouse, 515 Rusk Street, Houston, Texas. Update 7/28/05: By order of the Court, sentencing has been rescheduled to October 14, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. Update 10/17/05: On October 14, 2005, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced Charles "Kirk" Kirkpatrick to 21 months' imprisonment for the crimes to which he pled guilty in July. In arriving at the sentence, the Court found that Kirkpatrick had participated in a scheme that resulted in the fraudulent sale of at least 145 vehicles with rolled-back odometers. The sentence also included 2 years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, $12,000 in restitution, and a $300 special assessment.
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