SPRINGFIELD, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Francis T. Deutsch, 64, of Herrin, Illinois, was sentenced in the United States District Court in Benton, Illinois, to 41 months in prison and five years’ mandatory supervised release. In addition, the court ordered the Deutsch to pay $777,254.00 in restitution, $600,000 in forfeitures to the United States and a special assessment of $100. Deutsch pled guilty on June 9, 2011, to one count of wire fraud.
At his plea Deutsch admitted that between 2008 and early 2009, he and co-defendant Robert Gulledge engaged in a series of fraudulent credit card transactions which caused the Chevron Corporation (Chevron) to pay Gulledge’s business Aeroflight Sales and Charter for the sale of aviation fuel, when no fuel had actually been dispensed. Deutsch also admitted that the false credit card transactions caused a loss to Chevron in excess of $700,000. Deutsch was indicted by a federal grand jury in Benton, Illinois, on one count of wire fraud on October 20, 2011. A the time of the offense, Aeroflight was located at the Williamson County Airport in Marion, Illinois.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.
