Judge Algenon Marbley ..."eligible to serve 35 years in prison but said .....

said that duration would have been an excessive sentence.

Friday, August 8, 2008 - 2:09 PM EDT | Modified: Friday, August 8, 2008 - 2:15 PM
NCFE’s Poulsen gets 10 years on witness tampering attempt
Business First of Columbus - by Kevin Kemper

Lance Poulsen, who once headed the former National Century Financial Enterprises Inc., was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison and a fine for trying to get a witness to change her testimony at his upcoming fraud trial linked to the company’s collapse.

U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley handed down the sentence, ordering prison time as well as a $17,500 fine.

“This was an egregious offense,” Marbley said. “It goes to the integrity of the judicial process.”

Marbley also sentenced Poulsen, who co-founded National Century, to three years of supervised release once he completes his time in jail.

Poulsen was eligible to serve 35 years in prison. Marbley said that duration would have been an excessive sentence.

A jury found Poulsen, 65, guilty in March of attempting to bribe Sherry Gibson, a former National Century employee and federal witness, into changing her testimony for an upcoming trial in which Poulsen is accused of fraud. Poulsen was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, witness tampering, witness tampering by influencing testimony and corruptly persuading a federal witness.

His friend Karl Demmler, once the owner of a Dublin tavern, was convicted on the same counts. Demmler will be sentenced at a later date.

Poulsen still must stand trial on fraud charges stemming from the 2002 collapse of National Century. Shortly before his witness tampering trial, five executives of the former company were convicted on charges stemming from the government’s claim that as much as $2.89 billion from investors was lost in a fraud they conducted at the company.

Four of those executives were sentenced this week. Rebecca Parrett, also convicted, disappeared from her Arizona home where she was sent to await sentencing. Government officials continue to search for her.

Raising objections
When U.S. marshals led a shackled Poulsen into the courtroom Friday, he mouthed “thank you” to supporters in the gallery. During a break in the hearing, he turned around in his chair to smile and wink at his wife.

Before Marbley sentenced Poulsen, attorneys for the government and the former executive sparred over a presentence investigation report. Lawyer William Terpening criticized the report’s recommendation that Poulsen serve more time in prison because of the loss investors suffered in National Century’s failure. The report, Terpening said, alleges investors suffered billions of dollars in losses but it doesn’t take into account money the government recovered.

The money recovered since National Century’s bankruptcy should not be counted against the total loss, said Leo Wise, an attorney for the government, because it was recovered without help from Poulsen. Marbley agreed with government.

Terpening also argued that the report’s assertion that sophisticated means used in the fraud should be considered when sentencing Poulsen is incorrect because the former CEO hasn’t been convicted of fraud. Marbley said he found those so-called sophisticated means were used in not just the crime proven in the trial that Poulsen tried to influence, but also in the witness tampering case.

“They went to great lengths to avoid detection,” Marbley said of Poulsen and Demmler and a complicated transfer of money the two had planned.