Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 Judge Ronald B. Leighton UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA 0 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) NO. CR-0 RBL Plaintiff, ) ) GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING v. ) MEMORANDUM ) BARBARA JO ERICSSON, ) aka BARBARA JO FULTON, ) ) Defendant. ) ) 0 I. Introduction The United States of America, by and through Jenny A. Durkan, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and Lawrence Lincoln, Assistant United States Attorney for said District, hereby files its Sentencing Memorandum in this case. The sentencing in this matter is set for :0 p.m. on September, 0, before the Honorable Ronald B. Leighton. For the reasons that follow, the government recommends that the Court sentence Defendant to a term of months in custody, followed by five years of supervised release. II. Pertinent Facts On or about August, 00, Detectives Jas Kirk and Paul Erdahlof the Washington State Patrol (WSP) were contacted regarding the possible embezzlement of funds by the bookkeeper for the Superior Court Judges Association (SCJA) in Olympia, GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 Washington. The bookkeeper, Barbara Jo Fulton, allegedly embezzled the funds by writing unauthorized checks on SCJA s Key Bank checking account. SCJA is a legislatively-mandated association of all Washington State Superior Court Judges. The purpose of SCJA is to represent the interests of the Superior Court Judges before the public and the other two branches of government. The President of SCJA, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Steven Warning, reported that Barbara Jo Fulton had embezzled over $0,000 from SCJA during a twoyear period. Barbara Jo Fulton served as the bookkeeper for SCJA since approximately, initially as part of her duties with the Administrator of the Courts (AOC), and later as an independent bookkeeper after SCJA split off from the AOC in approximately. During the relevant time period, Barbara Jo Fulton was paid between $00 and $00 per month for her bookkeeping services to SCJA. According to Judge Warning, discrepancies in SCJA s checking account at Key Bank were first discovered in the Fall of 00 by Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Russell Hartman. Judge Hartman was organizing a statewide conference at a relatively expensive conference center. To determine whether SCJA had sufficient funds in the association s bank account to cover the conference, Judge Hartman reviewed SCJA s financial records. He was confused what he saw. The beginning and ending account balances did not match from month to month, and the total expenses did not appear reasonable to him. In fact, it initially appeared that the account was missing at least $,000. Judge Hartman expressed his concerns at the next trustees meeting held in January 00. As a result, the Board of Trustees asked Barbara Jo Fulton to prepare an income and expense report for the last two years.. At the next meeting in February 00, Judge Hartman requested that an accounting firm review the SCJA account and the expense report prepared by Fulton. The accounting firm of RSM McGladrey in Olympia was chosen to perform this review. In Prior to being charged in this case, Barbara Jo Fulton legally changed her name to Barbara Jo Ericsson. GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 March 00, Fulton and then Treasurer, King County Superior Court Judge Chris Washington, met with representatives of RSM McGladrey. At this meeting Fulton revealed that, as a result of a computer crash, she no longer possessed bank records prior to May, 00. Barbara Jo Fulton did provide RSM McGladrey with bank statements and invoices from May, 00, through December, 00. Barbara Jo Fulton also provided a chronological check register generated on her personal computer. That check register showed that all checks had been properly written for SCJA purposes. Judges Hartman later compared the invoices produced by Fulton for SCJA expenses with the checks reflected on Fulton s chronological check register. He discovered that checks did not have corresponding invoices. When SCJA then ordered copies of those checks from Key Bank, Judge Hartman discovered approximately of the checks totaling $,0. had been written to unauthorized payees. The initial discrepancies between the payees reported in Fulton s check register and the payees of the actual checks are as follows: Check No. Date Payee Falsely Reported In Payee Reflected on Amount Fulton s Check Register the Actual Check 0 0/0/0 Key Bank HSBC,. 0 0/0/0 Semiahmoo Resort AAA,. 0 0/0/0 Spokane County State Farm,000.00 0 0//0 Snohomish County Barb Fulton,000.00 0 0/0/0 Thurston County SSBC 00.00 0//0 Campbell's Resort AUNW 0,000.00 0 0//0 AOC AAA,. 0/0/0 Martha Harder Barb Fulton,. /0/0 Radisson Hotel AAA,. 0 //0 Campbell's Resort Barb Fulton,0. 0 //0 Westin Hotel Barb Fulton,.0 /0/0 AOC AAA,. //0 Void Barb Fulton,. //0 Void AAA,000.00 0//0 Key Bank Skyler Fulton,000.00 0//0 Mayflower Park Barb Fulton,.00 0/0/0 Mayflower Park Barb Fulton,. 0/0/0 Key Bank Barb Fulton,00.00 0/0/0 Board for? Barb Fulton,00.00 0/0/0 AOC State Farm,.00 0//0 AOC Sarah Sjolund,000.00 0//0 Key Bank SCU,. 0 0/0/0 Semiahmoo Resort WSECU,000.00 0 0//0 Semiahmoo Resort Sound CU,000.00 GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 0/0/0 Martha Hardee WSECU,. /0/0 AOC Barb Fulton,. /0/0 Whatcom County Sarah Sjolund,000.00 /0/0 Stevens County SUNW 00.00 /0/0 Pierce County Sarah Sjolund,000.00 //0 AOC Barb Fulton,000.00 00 0/0/0 Mayflower Park AUNW. 00 0//0 Key Bank Sarah Sjolund,000.00 TOTAL,0. All but one of the unauthorized checks appeared to bear the forged signature of then Treasurer, Superior Court Judge Chris Washington. One of the checks contained the forged signature of another SCJA officer, King County Superior Court Judge Richard McDermott. Notably, the only people who had signature authority for the SCJA account were the President, the President-Elect and the Treasurer of SCJA. Barbara Jo Fulton was never an authorized signer on SCJA s bank account. When expenses needed to be paid, Fulton typically prepared a check drawn on SCJA s checking account, and provided the check and a corresponding invoice to SCJA s Treasurer for approval and signature. Most of the contacts between the Judges and Fulton were conducted by e-mail or through phone conversations. As a result of the discovery of the apparent embezzlement by Barbara Jo Fulton, SCJA fired Fulton as its bookkeeper in late April 00. After receiving this background information, Detective Jas Kirk and FBI Special Agent Ryan Bruett were assigned to investigate the scope of the losses. The WSP and FBI ordered seven years of Key Bank account checking account records. According to Key Bank, earlier checks were no longer available. The WSP and FBI determined that between December 00 and April, 00, Fulton forged a total of checks from the account of the SCJA, resulting in losses of $,0.. Exhibit A hereto is a true and correct list of unauthorized checks written by Barbara Jo Fulton, along with salary checks GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 received by Barbara Jo Fulton during that time. All of the checks were written to accounts held in the name of Barbara Jo Fulton or to people or organizations associated with Fulton. For example, AUNW was determined to be Athletes Unlimited NW, LLC, and SUNW was determined to be Sports Unlimited NW, LLC, both companies started by Barbara Jo Fulton and/or her ex-husband. Likewise, Skyler Fulton was determined to be the son of Barbara Jo Fulton, and Sarah Sjoland was determined to be the mother of Skyler Fulton s son. Investigators obtained credit card records for an AAA credit card account in the name of Barbara Jo Fulton, and determined that Fulton used the SCJA account to pay for everyday credit card purchases. Many of the credit card purchases were for Fulton s online paypal account, with which she made scores of personal purchases. On December, 00, WSP Detective Kirk and FBI Special Agent Bruett interviewed Barbara Jo Fulton at her residence in West Olympia. Although not a custodial interview, the investigators provided Fulton with her Miranda rights, which she acknowledged and waived. Fulton stated that she went to work for the Administrator of the Courts in. Shortly thereafter, Fulton was assigned as a bookkeeper to SCJA as part of her duties. She became the independent bookkeeper for SCJA in, after transferring to the staff of Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland. Fulton stated that approximately five years earlier, she started taking money from the SCJA without authorization, although she later paid back some of the money with funds borrowed from her sister. Fulton said that she used the computer program Quicken to print the unauthorized checks. Fulton acknowledged that she sometimes would sign the checks herself; other times, she provided the unauthorized checks to the Treasurer of SCJA for signature with other vouchers. Fulton admitted that she took money from the SCJA account in this fashion between ten and 0 occasions, but did not have a good memory as The total loss figure of $,0. excludes checks in the amount of $,00 written as salary to Barbara Jo Fulton during the relevant time period, as reflected in Exhibit A. GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 to the number of separate embezzlements. Fulton expressed surprise that the loss amount totaled as much as $,000 the amount known by the investigators at that time. She acknowledged that she used the money to pay bills when everything was falling apart in her life. On December, 00, Barbara Jo Fulton again agreed to be interviewed by WSP Detective Kirk and FBI Special Agent Bruett at her home. Again, Fulton received and waived her Miranda rights. In this interview, Fulton stated that she did not recall when she first started writing the unauthorized checks. Nor did she know how much she had embezzled. Fulton identified several unauthorized payees, including her credit card company (AAA), two financial institutions at which she kept accounts (Sound Credit Union and Washington State Employees Credit Union) and her insurance company (State Farm). She agreed that all checks written to those payees were improper. Fulton was cooperative and respectful throughout both interviews. III. Guidelines Calculations. Sentencing Calculations 0 The government agrees with the Guideline calculations set forth in the Presentence Report. The defendant s base offense level is under USSG B.(a)(). A -level increase is appropriate due to a loss and attempted loss of between $00,000 and $,000,000 under USSG B.(b)()(H). Defendant further should receive a -level enhancement for abusing a position trust, and using a special skill, in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense, pursuant to USSG B.. Finally, Defendant should receive a -level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility under USSG E.. These calculations result in a total adjusted offense level of 0. With a Criminal History Category of I, Defendant s applicable Guideline range is to months.. Restitution Restitution should be ordered in the amount of $,0. to the Superior Court Judge s Association, with credit for amounts previously paid by the defendant. The GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 government has determined that Ms. Ericsson previously repaid a total of $, to SCJA. On April 0, 00, Ms. Ericsson repaid part of the funds she embezzled by depositing into the SCJA checking account a cashier s check for $,, drawn on funds from her Washington State Employee s Credit Union account. On April 0, 00, Ms. Ericsson likewise deposited a check for $,000, drawn on her Sound Credit Union account, into SCJA s checking account. These monies should be credited against the $,0. restitution obligation. IV. Sentencing Recommendation and Justification The government recommends a sentence of months in prison, followed by a supervised release term of five years. Defendant also should be ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $,0., with credit for amounts previously paid toward restitution. The government s recommendation recognizes a number of mitigating and aggravating considerations in this case. As for mitigation, Ms. Ericsson was immediately cooperative when approached by investigators. When her conduct was revealed to her by investigators, she expressed contrition and agreed to assist in identifying the scope of the fraud. Additionally, according to the Probation Officer, Ms. Ericsson has a relatively low profile for recidivism. Indeed, Ms. Ericsson has no prior criminal history, and appears to be a person who previously led a unblemished and completely law abiding life. However, there are aggravating factors here as well. Ms. Ericsson s conduct continued for a very long time, more than six years. Based on the attached list of fraudulent checks, it appears that Ms. Ericsson began embezzling funds in February 00 by depositing SCJA s checks directly into her Bank of America account. In mid- 00, her embezzling conduct markedly increased in scope and frequency. She did not stop embezzling until she was fired in late-april 00. Additionally, the amount of her total embezzlement is quite large over $0,000. Further, Ms. Ericsson initially attempted to conceal her crime in March 00 by creating a phony check register showing that the embezzled checks were made payable to legitimate payees. Ms. Ericsson then provided GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 0 this phony check register to SCJA s Treasurer and its independent auditor, RSM McGladrey. Perhaps most important, however, Ms. Ericsson held and abused a position of almost complete trust by the Judges. She was allowed to print the checks from her own computer; reconcile the books; receive and keep account statements for SCJA at her personal residence; and maintain and keep the check register for SCJA. Although Ms. Ericsson did not have signatory authority on the SCJA bank account, Ms. Ericsson was given significant authority and discretion in almost every other way. Indeed, as Ms. Ericsson acknowledged in her first interview, Judges routinely signed checks she submitted to them even without a corresponding invoice. After almost 0 years of working with SCJA s books, Ms. Ericsson truly held a position of trust with the Judges. Given these considerations, the government believes that the Court should impose a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offense, ensures just punishment, and provides general deterrence to others in the community who might commit a similar offense. The recommended sentence of months achieves these important sentencing goals, while providing Ms. Ericsson with a reduction of six months from the applicable Guideline range of - months in recognition of her obvious contrition and cooperation with investigators. Additionally, the government recommends a sentence of five years of supervised release, so that Ms. Ericsson will have the maximum time in which to make restitution while under supervision. Accordingly, in view of the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of this defendant, and taking into consideration the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, to /// /// /// /// GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page of 0 0 provide just punishment, and to protect the community, the government recommends a sentence of months in custody followed by five years of supervised release. DATED this th day of September, 0. Respectfully submitted, JENNY A DURKAN United States Attorney s/ Lawrence Lincoln LAWRENCE LINCOLN Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney s Office 00 Stewart Street, Suite 0 Seattle, WA 0 Telephone: (0) - Facsimile: (0) -0 0 GOVERNMENT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM/ERICSSON (CR-0 RBL) 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0
Case :-cr-00-rbl Document Filed 0// Page 0 of 0 0 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on September, 0, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the attorney of record for the defendant. s/ Bonnie Wolfgram BONNIE WOLFGRAM Paralegal Specialist United States Attorney s Office 00 Stewart Street, Suite 0 Seattle, Washington 0- Phone: (0) -0 FAX: (0) -0 E-mail: Bonnie.Wolfgram@usdoj.gov 0 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 00 STEWART STREET, SUITE 0 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 0- (0) -0