Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (18926)	12/31/2011 12:10:41 PM
From: average joe	Respond to of 69300

Pharmacist helps collar U.S. con man Bogus doctor’s note leads police to fugitive By: Carol Sanders Posted: 12/31/2011 10:06 AM \| A MINNESOTA businessman who pleaded guilty in May to committing millions in insurance fraud in the United States was arrested in Winnipeg while trying to fill forged prescriptions. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Travis Magdalena Scott flew a small airplane across the border to St. Andrews Airport and quietly settled in downtown Winnipeg. On Dec. 22, a pharmacist in Fort Garry called police when a man tried to have prescriptions filled that appeared to be bogus. Police arrested the 34-year-old from Eden Prairie, Minn., and discovered outstanding federal warrants for his arrest in the U.S. He faces several weapons and forgery charges here and extradition to the U.S. Scott was out on a $100,000 bond awaiting sentencing when he flew to Canada in September, said Lynzey Donahue of the U.S. Marshals Service. According to court documents, he didn’t have to surrender his passport. Scott faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering. The "gifted computer programmer" is a "shy, small, soft-spoken man who will have significant challenges in prison," Scott’s lawyer said in U.S. court documents obtained by the Free Press. On May 31 in Minnesota, he pleaded guilty to committing millions of dollars in insurance fraud. In 2008, one year after obtaining an insurance policy, Scott reported to the insurer Zurich that his business had been struck by lightning and had sustained significant damage. According to the FBI, he told Zurich he wished to exercise the "replacement option" on his policy for up to the $9.5-million policy limit. Later that month, Scott began ordering replacements for the damaged supercomputers. He subsequently represented to Zurich that a new computer system had been delivered, and based on those misrepresentations, the company gave him $9.5 million. He didn’t use the insurance money to buy replacement computers but kept it and used it for personal gain, including the purchase of a Beech aircraft. Zurich also paid Scott more than $1.9 million for business interruption. That figure was based in part on the profits reported in his 2007 tax return. The tax return Scott gave to Zurich, however, was falsified, the FBI said. In total, Scott admitted he was responsible for losses to Zurich of between $7.1 million and $10 million, the FBI said. In November 2010, search and seizure warrants were executed at Scott’s home and airport hangar in Eden Prairie, as well as on various bank accounts and other property. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service seized three aircraft, a boat, three vehicles and more than $5 million from various bank accounts, all as proceeds of the fraud, while Winnipeg police have seized his Piper airplane and Jeep Liberty here. Scott is in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre. Investigators found several forged prescriptions and a loaded handgun were found in a vehicle at his home near Hargrave Street and Broadway. Police executed a search warrant and seized the tools for the forging of prescriptions and accompanying identification, which included computers, a thermal printer and an inkjet printer, $35,000 in Canadian and American currency, $85,000 in one-ounce gold coins, $756 in one-ounce silver coins, bear spray and assorted medications. Police said Scott, who also goes by the names Olson and Paul Ian Decker, faces several forgery and weapons charges. The U.S. Marshals have already initiated extradition proceedings. A spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency did not respond to a request for comment on how Scott was able to slip into Canada from the U.S. St. Andrews Airport has no customs or border services and can’t keep track of all the movements at the airport home to 150 planes, said executive director Craig Skonberg. Pilots from the U.S. have to file flight plans with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration that are passed along to NavCanada, he said. The aircraft would be directed to clear customs at Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg before landing at St Andrews, he said. Skonberg has no idea how Scott could have flown over the border without security services on either side knowing about it or picking it up on radar. "They’re busy watching... I change the lightbulbs and plow the snow." winnipegfreepress.com