Theft of a Firearm

by Greg Miller – Investigative Reporter

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO – A Maryland heights, Missouri resident, Kathy Brown, has been battling various problems in her community. After enduring tornado damage to her home in April, Kathy hired a contractor to complete repairs to her home. She gave a contractor thousands of dollars to complete work in her two bathrooms. The contractor failed to complete the job and caused more damage to her home.

During the duration of the contractor’s work, Kathy noticed her pistol (revolver), that was stored in her bed stand, was missing. She searched throughout her home for the pistol and was unable to locate it. There was no evidence of forced entry of her home and the only possible suspect could be the contractor.

She filed a police report with the Maryland Height’s Police Department. Since then, by advice of Maryland Heights Police and Lowes professional, it was suggested to have no further contact with the suspect.

Further investigation revealed that the contractor had not provided evidence of their skills and credibility to competently complete the work. There was no way to learn if the contractor has a criminal history and no contract for the work to be done was made. The Maryland Heights Detectives said the theft is still under investigation and recommend better vigilance when inviting contractors to do work.

Former Pastor of North County Church Sentenced on Fraud Charges

Department of Justice Press Release

ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney's Office announced today that Danny O'Guin was sentenced to eight months in prison involving a scheme to get loans from church members between April 2006 and March 2009. O'Guin exploited his position as a religious leader to the members of the church who felt compelled to agree to the loans despite their reservations about the transactions. At various times, O'Guin falsely stated that he needed money for a particular purpose and then would use the borrowed money for another purpose. He also used false pretenses to put off or lull members asking for their money back. In addition to his prison sentence, the defendant will be ordered to pay restitution as determined by the court, in an amount in excess of $100,000.

DANNY O'GUIN, formerly of Florissant, MO, pled guilty in November to one felony count of mail fraud and appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus handled the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Owner of Utah Fertility Business Indicted on Fraud Charges

Department of Justice Press Release

ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney's Office announced today that the owner of a Utah egg donation operation has been indicted on multiple charges of fraud involving her non-payment to egg donors.

Janae Helgerson was arrested on the St. Louis indictment in Idaho late yesterday and is expected to appear before a federal judge in Boise, Idaho, before traveling to St. Louis to answer the charges.

According to the indictment, Janae Helgerson owned and operated Mid-West Egg Donation to match couples seeking to conceive a baby with women who were willing to donate eggs to these couples. Midwest Egg allegedly told prospective clients who wanted to receive eggs that the agency was paid a fee for its services and that the donors were paid compensation of at least $4,000. Midwest Egg represented a number of clients to obtain eggs from donors and accepted payments from those clients to cover both its agency fee, compensation for the donor, and other expenses, including travel expenses incurred by donors. Numerous donors were in the St. Louis area and elsewhere. The indictment alleges that between 2006 and 2010, Helgerson agreed with client donors to pay them between $4,000 and $5,000. When she failed to pay them, she made multiple excuses, claiming the need for more forms, bank errors, etc. She also allegedly told them that their funds would be held in escrow, when she actually had used them for her own expenses. She lied to law enforcement investigators when questioned about the non-payments to donors.

JANAE HELGERSON, Boise, ID, was indicted be a federal grand jury on three felony counts of wire fraud and three felony counts of making false statements.

If convicted, each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. Each count of making a false statement carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

National Standards to file Police Complaints

By Greg Miller – Investigative Reporter

Should Congress adopt a national standard mandating how police departments handle a citizen’s complaint?

Most citizens in America do not have issues involving police conduct; however, there are a few who either were treated rudely during a traffic stop, who were physically abused or have been mistreated in other ways. Often, when a citizen wishes to make a complaint they are faced with intimidation, fear and confusion in the process.

“Police misconduct is nothing new” says Diop Kamau, who is an expert witness for police misconduct. Over the last 50 years, America has had to deal with abuse of police power from the civil rights movements in the 1960 to the LA riots resulting in the acquittal of five LA police officers over the beating of Rodney King.

In a recent survey, five citizens where asked, “Should Congress adopt a national standard mandating how police departments should handle citizen’s complaints”. All five citizens answered YES. Doug Libert of Parkersburg, WV believes police do not do a good job policing their own.

Justice Kennedy, during his Confirmation hearing (as aired by PBS), said that society has the right to protect themselves from crime and there is a need for police to police themselves to include improperly seized evidence. There are Constitutional rights that police and judges need to know and the criminal justice system needs to obey the rules.

Willis Wilson, who was falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and was exonerated by the court says, “Police don’t do a good job watching their own ranks”. Wilson is an advocate to truth in justice and is actively pursuing the awareness of unsolved murders in the Chicagoland communities.

Kathy Brown of Maryland Heights, MO has struggled with her own police department after her calls to police were ignored. When she filed a complaint, the police department turned their backs on her. She believes police departments often refuse to take citizens complaints.

Agda Freitag of Arizona watched a elder female friend get jerked out of her vehicle and was handled roughly by a police officer who seemed to have poor verbal skills when talking to other people. As a witness to the incident Agda believes persons who are arrested are treated as if they are guilty before the Court.

Richard Wingert who has filed police reports with Miller County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri advocated a standard that “would put in place a standard in which all agencies must follow, guaranteeing everyone is treated fairly”.

All of these people that were interviewed had something in common: all have personally been involved with an encounter with police in some way or another. Congress should investigate to learn what the common problems are involving a citizens’ ability to make a complaint and have the complaint investigated fairly with the purpose to building trust between the citizen and the police.