11 February 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida;
and Brian Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal
Investigation Division, announced today that late on February 9, 2005, defendant,
Donald Frank Mintmire, a Florida attorney, was convicted by a federal jury in
Miami, Florida, of obstructing a federal grand jury investigation, in violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c)(2), and conspiracy to obstruct a
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 371. Mintmire faces a maximum statutory term of
imprisonment of twenty (20) years on the obstruction count and five (5) years on
the conspiracy count.
As alleged in the Third Superseding Indictment, Mintmire attempted to obstruct a
federal grand jury investigation of possible federal offenses in connection with
the sale of the stock of Clements Golden Phoenix Enterprises, Inc., a Florida
corporation. Mintmire was charged with attempting to dissuade Kevin Bell from fully
disclosing to the federal grand jury and law enforcement officers facts known to
him concerning the true ownership of Lucid Concepts, Inc., and its merger with
Clements Citrus Sales of Florida, Inc., and with attempting to obtain the
assistance of Kevin Bell in dissuading others with such knowledge from disclosing the facts known to them to the grand jury and law enforcement officers.
The conspiracy count charged Mintmire with obstructing an SEC proceeding. The
purpose of the conspiracy, as alleged, was to conceal from SEC investigators that
persons described as stockholders in Fundae Corporation were nominees who had ceded
control of their interests in the stock of Fundae Corporation to the defendant.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark D. Johnson.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls
. Related court documents and information may be
found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at
www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on
.
