UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ALEXANDRIA    NEWPORT NEWS    NORFOLK    RICHMOND CHUCK ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

Former Controller of United Leasing Corporation Sentenced For Bank Fraud and Illegal Possession of a Firearm

(Richmond, Virginia) - James H. Wilkins, age 42, formerly of Mechanicsville, Virginia, was sentenced today on two bank fraud charges and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Chief United States District Judge James R. Spencer sentenced Wilkins to a term of 108 months of imprisonment and ordered Wilkins to pay $1,231,457.12 in restitution to United Leasing Corporation and $189,546.61 to the Home Owners Association of North Myrtle Beach Golf and Tennis. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jennifer Smith Love, Special Agent-In-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Trip Chalkley, Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney; and Col. V. Stuart Cook, Sheriff, Hanover County announced the sentencing.

Between August 2003 and September 2006, Wilkins was the Controller of United Leasing Corporation (“ULC”) in Mechanicsville, Virginia. According to Court documents, he used his position at ULC to forge and utter company checks without authorization. He diverted the money from these checks to his personal use, including the purchase of multiple items of real and personal property, resulting in a loss of $1,231,457.

Court documents show that Wilkins also committed a separate bank fraud scheme in South Carolina from June 2007 through December 2007. In November 2006, Wilkins purchased and operated a business called “Property Management Plus” (hereafter “PMP”) as a property management business. In June 2007, Wilkins, doing business as PMP, was hired by the Home Owners Association (hereafter “HOA”) of North Myrtle Beach Golf and Tennis and in that capacity was given authority to write checks from HOA’s renovation account to pay the contractor, Service Tech, for invoices due for the renovation project at North Myrtle Beach Golf and Tennis.

From June 14, 2007, through December 12, 2007, Wilkins wrote nine checks from the HOA’s account at First Federal Bank, made each payable to “Service Tech,” and signed each “James Herbert Wilkins.” By January 11, 2008, Wilkins had withdrawn the entire amount of $189,546.61 from the “James Herbert Wilkins dba Service Tech” account. In fact, none of this money was owed to Service Tech for the renovation project. Instead, the money was deposited into a bank account controlled by Wilkins.

When arrested in Florida on the bank fraud charges. Wilkins was found in possession of five firearms. He was prohibited from possessing firearms, however, as he was a convicted felon at the time. Wilkins agreed with prosecutors to resolve his pending bank fraud charges in Virginia and South Carolina, as well as the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge in Florida, in one proceeding here in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richmond Division; and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian L. Whisler and G. Wingate Grant.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.