PALATKA DAILY NEWS January 17, 2006 51 more charges piled on to Evans: Rearraignment set for Jan. 24 By Randy Lefko East Palatka farm labor camp owner Ronald Robert Evans Sr. will face 51 additional felony charges at a Jan. 24 rearraignment hearing in U.S. District Court after prosecutors filed new charges Thursday, according to court documents.
Evans faces 50 new charges dealing with alleged illegal bank transactions and one charge of alleged witness tampering. Evans and his employees previously faced 10 charges of allegedly violating numerous sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act and making false statements to U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators. Prosecutors also will attempt to seize nearly $1.3 million in property and vehicles as part of the proceeds from the alleged banking irregularities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sciortino alleges that Evans did not report, as required by law, 50 separate bank transactions of $10,000 or more that attempted to evade federal transaction reporting requirements. Evans faces a penalty of up to five years of prison for each infraction if convicted.
Sciortino also alleges that Evans attempted to persuade two persons listed as witnesses to make false statements to investigators in connection with the alleged banking irregularities.
Sciortino’s indictment shows bank transactions with deposit records from Feb. 12, 2001 until May 4, 2005. The 60 recorded deposits were made with checks from Tater Farms for less than $10,000 but for amounts adding up to over $10,000. On Dec. 26, 2003, six checks for $9,450 and two for $9,900 were deposited into an account at First National Bank of Alachua. Neither Sciortino nor William Mallory Kent, Evans’ attorney, were available for comment because of the holiday. |