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Date: 05-01-2021
Case Style:
Case Number: 1:20-cr-00015-DHB-BKE
Judge: Dudley H. Bowen
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgie (Richmon county)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Augusta, Georgia criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Walker Washington, 53, of Augusta, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Co-defendant Aaron Barnes-Burpo, 29, of Crestview, Fla., previously was also charged with wire fraud..
“These two flim-flam artists and their phony entourage lived large for several weeks by scamming hospitality providers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We commend the skeptical hotel clerk who saw through the scam and alerted law enforcement, bringing this scheme to a halt.”
In court documents and testimony, Washington and Barnes-Burpo admitted that they falsely portrayed themselves as affiliated with the Roc Nation production company and the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan as early as September 2019, and used those fictitious representations along with fraudulent and stolen credit cards to rent luxury limousines and defraud hotels, caterers and production studios of thousands of dollars in goods and services in multiple cities, primarily in the Southeast.
The scam unraveled Nov. 21, 2019, when staff at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Augusta became suspicious and alerted the FBI and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
“These two scammers will have plenty of time to figure out if their few weeks of unearned fame was worth several years in prison,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “With this sentence, law enforcement and the victims of their scam, have spoken loudly that we won’t tolerate anyone who takes anything they do not earn or deserve.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and other state and local authorities, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia G. Rhodes.
18 U.S.C. § 1349 Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
(1)
Outcome: Burpo:
Defendant sentenced to 84 months custody BOP, three (3) years supervised release, $100.00 special assessment, Restitution in the amount of $299,825.42 as announced, plea agreement accepted, remanded USMS
Washington:
Defendant sentenced to custody BOP for a term of 100 months, three years supervised release, Special Assessment of $100.00, Restitution in the amount of $299,825.42. Remanded USMS.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: