Also failed to begin payment of 4.5 million dollars in restitution
PHOENIX – LAWFUEL – Legal Newswire – Sharen Lee Stewart, 65, of Laveen, Ariz., pleaded guilty here today in federal district court to Failure to Surrender for Service of Sentence. Stewart failed to turn herself in on August 5, 2006 to begin her previous federal prison sentence for Wire Fraud in United States v. Sharen Stewart, et al. and was arrested on November 5, 2007, as she attempted to reenter the U.S. from Mexico at the Andrade, Calif., Port of Entry.
In her guilty plea on the current offense, Steward admitted that on May 5, 2006, she was ordered to self surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service in August 2006 to begin her 30 month federal prison sentence but had failed to turn herself in. Stewart also admitted that she was to pay $4,516,527.32 in restitution as a result of the previous conviction.
Sentencing is set before Judge Carroll on Friday, February 22, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. A conviction for Failure to Surrender for Service of Sentence carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Earl H. Carroll will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. Judge Carroll, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. Stewart was custody during her guilty plea and will remain in custody until the service of her sentences on both cases.
The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service. The prosecution is being handled by Frederick A. Battista, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-07-1267-PHX-EHC
CR-03-1269-001-PHX-NVW(previous case)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2007-256(Stewart)
