SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on July 21, 2021, Christopher B. Tolley, age 35, of Hinton, West Virginia, was charged in a criminal information with making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the information alleges that on May 22, 2019, Tolley represented to a task force officer with the FBI that he was unaware of a bank account held in his name at Sun Trust Bank. That statement allegedly was false, because Tolley had personally opened the bank account and deposited a stolen check for $95,154.54 into the account.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.
Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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