Robert Craddock pleads guilty to wire fraud
Zeek Rewards figure Robert Craddock was indicted on charges of wire fraud back in March.
This was followed by an arraignment in April, which saw Craddock plead not guilty.
Now news that earlier this month Craddock has changed his tune and plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
In total, Craddock (right) was indicted on two counts of wire fraud, with “elements” of the counts described as follows:
First Element: The Defendant knowingly devised or participated in a scheme to defraud, or to obtain money or property by using false pretenses, representations, or promises.
First Element: The false pretenses, representations, or promises were about a material fact.
First Element: The Defendant acted with the intent to defraud and
First Element: The Defendant transmitted or caused to be transmitted by wire some communication in interstate commerce to help carry out the scheme to defraud.
There’s probably some legal intricacy I’m missing, but to me counts 1 and 3 go hand in hand. Count four I’m neutral on.
In any event, Craddock has plead guilty to counts one and two, they
carry a maximum sentence of twenty years of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, and a special assessment of $100 per felony count.
In exchange for Craddock pleading guilty,
the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida agrees not to charge defendant with committing any other federal criminal offenses known to the United States Attorney’s Office at the time of the execution of this agreement, related to the
conduct giving rise to this plea agreement.At the time of sentencing, and in the event that no adverse information is received suggesting such a recommendation to be unwarranted, the United States will recommend to the Court that the defendant receive a two level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, pursuant to USSG §3E1.1 (a).
The defendant understands that this recommendation or request is not binding on the Court, and if not accepted by the Court, the defendant will not be allowed to withdraw from the plea.
Or in other words, that’s it – guilty as charged and no further charges will be filed.
Not being familiar with sentencing procedures, I’m also not entirely sure what effect a “two level downward adjustment” will have on maximum twenty year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.
Should Craddock’s “offense level” be at “level 16 or greater” at the time of sentencing and Craddock remain cooperative, the US Attorney’s Office also agreed to ‘file a motion for a downward adjustment of one additional level.‘
That is of course if the court approves all of this (I don’t see why they wouldn’t). Failing which Craddock cannot reverse his guilty plea and will have to accept an alternative sentence regardless.
On the money side of things, Craddock’s plea agreement will see him
forfeit to the United States immediately and voluntarily any and all assets and property, or portions thereof, subject to forfeiture, whether in the possession or control of the United States or in the possession or control of the defendant or defendant’s nominees.
The assets to be forfeited specifically include, but are not limited to, a money judgment in the amount of $117,700.00, representing the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the offenses charged in Counts One and Two.
So basically on top of the $250,000 he might be up for and whatever jail time he receives, Craddock is also stripped of his ill-gotten gains (and assets to cover what he doesn’t have in cash).
Craddock’s plea agreement was signed on the 12th of June, 2015 and filed the same day.
A change of plea hearing has been set for the 22nd of June (as Craddock initially plead not guilty), following which it’s expected a sentencing hearing will be scheduled.
Stay tuned as we continue to cover the downfall of one of the Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme’s biggest advocates…
Footnote: Our thanks to Don@ASDUpdates for providing a copy of Robert Craddock’s wire fraud plea agreement.
Update 23rd June 2015 – Following a twenty-minute hearing held yesterday, Judge David Baker accepted Craddock’s guilty plea.
Craddock remains subject to the conditions of his initial release, with a sentencing hearing yet to be scheduled.
Update 30th June 2015 – A sentencing hearing has now been scheduled for September 14th, 2015.
Update 16th February 2023 – Robert Craddock was sentenced to six months in prison on October 2015.
IIRC, in order to ensure there’s a ‘standard’ (i.e. judges don’t get TOO much leeway), there are “recommending sentencing minimums” for various crimes. They are laid out in “US State Sentencing Guidelines (USSG):
criminal.lawyers.com/criminal-law-basics/what-are-sentencing-guidelines.html
I spoke with someone with some understanding of federal sentencing guidelines, her best guess is:
A base six or seven offense level, an eight point upward adjustment for the dollar figure involved. A two point downward adjustment as mentioned in the pleas deal so a final number of 12 or 13. Which assuming this is Robert’s first criminal offense would lead to between 10 to 18 months per charge but perhaps a total closer to 18 to 24 for both.
But no specific offense level was mentioned in the plea deal and it’s also uncertain if the two counts would add to each other or be served consecutively. Looks like the court has a lot of latitude to adjust the sentence depending on how quickly and completely Robert makes restitution.
And, as I was warned, federal sentencing rules are a little byzantine even for some attorneys.
But no matter how you slice it, it is now a perfectly accurate thing to say that Robert Lee Craddock of Volusia County Florida is a convicted felon.
Cheers for the background work. Guess we’ll wait and see how hard they hit for then when the time comes.
Craddock in jail before they got him for Zeek. Whodathunkit.
I just love it when they can get these plea deals worked out so that our enforcement budget can be directed at the next one in line … like MyAdvertisingPays.
Observing how long these crooks can get away with running these SCAMS before they get shut down is “fingernails-on-a-chalkboard” frustrating.
SD
i just hate it when they can get these plea deals worked out so that criminals can walk with little or less time, depending on their financial power or litigation power.
why should ‘enforcement’ earn its budget from plea deals? that’s a recipe for corruption.
you cannot have one guy spending 50 years in prison and another guy spending 5 years in prison due to different ‘wheeling and dealing’ plea bargains in crime.
law, crime, and punishment should be equal, without much attention to ‘personalized’ treatment.
‘settling’ is something tribal societies do, a sophisticated system will treat crime equally.
If I remember this correctly, this case had nothing to do with Zeek. So it will be interesting to see if he has any charges related to Zeek in his future.
This case arose from Robert Cradduck filing a claim against BP for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, for harm he alleged it did to his ISP provider buisness, based on the EAST COAST of Florida, that is, on the other side from where the oil spill was, which is only a few hundred miles as the crow flies, but about 1500 miles as the fish swims, or the oil contaminates, depending on what you’re talking about.
I never understood how an oil spill could affect an ISP provider, even it it was on the coast of Florida actually affected by the spill.
Apparently, the FBI and the US Attorney for Southern District of Florida didn’t see it either.
As to the sentencing guidelines, he’ll get 16 months for each count, to be served concurrently, give or take a month.
By my figuring and a wils ass guess, take off 15% for good behavior (no parole in the Federal System) and that’s what he’ll serve, if he can manage not to run a commissary based ponzi scheme in prison which would be just like him.
That would either add back on the good behavior time, or get him killed, depending on who catches him.
This case arose from Robert Cradduck filing a claim against BP for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, for harm he alleged it did to his ISP provider buisness, based on the EAST COAST of Florida, that is, on the other side from where the oil spill was, which is only a few hundred miles as the crow flies, but about 1500 miles as the fish swims, or the oil contaminates, depending on what you’re talking about.
I never understood how an oil spill could affect an ISP provider, even it it was on the coast of Florida actually affected by the spill.
Apparently, the FBI and the US Attorney for Southern District of Florida didn’t see it either.
As to the sentencing guidelines, he’ll get 16 months for each count, to be served concurrently, give or take a month by my figuring and a wils ass guess, take off 15% for good behavior (no parole in the Federal System) and that’s what he’ll serve, if he can manage not to run a commissary based ponzi scheme in prison which would be just like him. That would either add back on the good behavior time, or get him killed, depending on who catches him.
Securities regulators and the prosecutors tasked with pursuing criminal convictions derive their budgets from a finite portion of our tax dollars. When plea deals are offered and accepted, more crooks meet justice faster.
It’s always the choice of the defendant whether to accept or reject an offered deal. Everyone gets their day in court if they want it.
Idealistically, that sounds great. Realistically, people charged with crimes tend to want to argue the details of whether they are guilty or not.
The more I observe what occurs after tribal societies are force-fed a “sophisticated system” like democracy … the more I like tribal societies.
SD
“A democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what is for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote” – Benjamin Franklin
justice is not a sweat shop production line whose chief purpose is to save time and money.
justice is about the highest ideals and morals a civilization adopts to raise itself further. civilizations grow and prosper and evolve on the foundation of how they live together [law] and how they treat each each other [justice].
justice deals with the life and liberty of a human person and there is no scope for any shortcuts or wheeling and dealing in a concept that is higher than any of us.
if the purpose of our civilization is just to save time, energy and money, we would have square squat buildings everywhere. but we build the tallest or architecturally grandest buildings we can, because we are idealistic and driven to pursue the highest ideals.
the pursuit of true fair equitable justice, is the biggest and most important ideal because it defines us as a society and as human beings.
so, i’m not a fan of saving time, money and energy on ‘justice’ by plea bargaining about 95% felony cases [in the US]. it doesn’t allow the law to evolve and it doesn’t help humanity evolve. it turns us into a bunch of oily wheeling dealing scheming slimeballs. we deserve much better.
justice should be decided through the rigors of law and not plea bargains.
[sorry for the ‘sermon’ but i feel strongly about this]
“Sophisticated systems will follow my ideas!”. 🙂
Then you won’t need to use your brain. You can simply compare the individual cases to the ideas you already have accepted, to see how well they match your ideas, “the blueprint for true justice”. 🙂
That’s pretty much a bunch of uber-idealistic baloney.
No. sophisticated systems will follow ideals.
truth, fairness, equity, are ideals we all naturally recognize as Morally Right. it is not my idea at all.
this article by my favorite judge, jed rakoff may help you understand my POV better:
‘principles’ and ‘ideals’ can never be hostage to ‘practicality’.
nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/nov/20/why-innocent-people-plead-guilty/
Religion often works like that.
They will usually identify themselves as the only true path to salvation / ethernal life / Nirvana etc., and will try to attract followers and devotees.
Your idea of justice seems to be based primarily on religious ideas?
You probably mean “justice deals indirectly, in some cases, with the life and liberty of a human person”?
The opposite idea is a justice system that will involve itself directly in each and every case, and will affect the life and liberty of the people involved in that case. That’s a religious idea.
No. it’s just the uber-consciousness of the uber-intellect, we uber-enjoy as human beings which makes us uber-idealistic.
it’s not baloney it’s just uber-evolution.
No. religious ideas are founded on the concept of God.
my ideas are founded around the non negotiable value of human life and liberty. THAT should be the guiding principle in how we run ourselves.
It’s difficult to see any connection between Judge Rakoff’s ideas there and your ideas.
The central point in that article was about innocent people pledging guilty to crimes they hadn’t committed, because of the much higher risks of facing a trial with an unfriendly public prosecutor in the driver’s seat.
Judge Rakoff didn’t refer to “ideals” but to realities. Any ideals were solidly anchored in realities. He didn’t put up series of ideals from a belief system.
did you miss this para:
idealism is constantly practiced through ‘improvement’.
idealism is not a rubber stamp that can decree change.
to achieve idealism you have to take continuously undertake ‘practical’ measures that bring you closer and closer to the ideal benchmark.
jed rakoff understands the distance from the current position [95% plea bargaining] to law based justice [approx 3%], and is suggesting measures to close that gap a bit.
he is a practical idealist, theoretical idealists are absolutely necessary, but they need people on the ground.
Your ideas are primarily founded around your own ideas. They go in circles, e.g. they will primarily be tested against themselves, similar to the idea “God exists because the Bible says he exists, and the Bible is the Word of God”.
Religious people will use reasoning like that. It makes sense to them, because they primarily will be looking for “reflections” of ideas they already have accepted as true. But it won’t make sense to other people, only to the true believers.
“justice deals with the life and liberty of a human person” has been adjusted to reflect your own ideas (in a circle). You didn’t look at the actual case, your reasoning revolved solely around your own ideas. “This case doesn’t reflect my ideas, so there must be something wrong with it!”.
No. the idea that the value of human life is incalculable and hence non negotiable, is ancient knowledge. as much as like, this thought cannot be credited to me. i have made this idea my own, i can admit this much.
we always look for reflections of our ideas, that has more to do with our ego than religion. we can be in religion, or in love, or in politics, or in business, or doing nothing at all, and we always want someone to reflect our ideas.
it’s just like You, seeking acceptance of YOUR ideas, by negating mine. totally natural.
‘principles’ and ‘ideals’ should be the Only idea, whatever the case may be. it should not be about your idea or my idea, but based on the principles of natural law, on which we [most of us] have adopted our constitutional law.
Craddock has officially entered his Guilty plea on two Counts, the Magistrate Judge has accepted it. Sentencing to follow.
I hope he gets life… he is such a pompous sycophant and a total jerk!!
Here’s Wikipedia’s initial descriptin of Justice.
You can’t expect a court to “reflect” your own ideas. You must correct those ideas first to match the types of justice a court actually can deliver. You can’t mix in irrelevant ideas.
Speak for yourself, and don’t try to make it become a standard by using the word “we”. 🙂
Which role does “natural law” have here?
Should a court make decisions based on “natural law”, or based on “principles of natural law”?
“on which we [most of us] have adopted our constitutional law”. Since when did people adopt constitutional laws? The only one regularly referring to “The Constitution” seems to be Troy Dooly. 🙂
this is why justice should be based on the highest intellectual principles and ideals founded on the incalculable preciousness of human life and liberty.
left to our base emotions we will mistreat each other. we will steal the life and liberty of human beings because we disagree with them/dislike them/hate them or just because we can.
Article updated with confirmation of guilty plea agreement being accepted.
Sentencing hearing yet to be scheduled.
He’s a bad actor. A couple of years in prison may do him some good.
18 U.S.C. §1343 have specific rules for natural disaster frauds
So his plea bargain reduced the charges to be about plain wire fraud with a 20 years maximum imprisonment, rather than about the specific “natural disaster” rules with maximum 30 years imprisonment.
If I have interpreted the plea bargain correctly, they assume he will end up around 16 “points” (in terms of sentencing guidelines). That’s minimum 21 months imprisonment.
ussc.gov/guidelines-manual/2014/2014-chapter-5#5asentab
7 base points (crime with maximum sentence 20 years or more)
8 points based on the amount, “more than $70,000”
= 15 points
One of those “assets” you were referring to, looks like it’s finally getting sold!
gardneraircraft.com/planeviewpic.php?id=440
That must me some expensive fuel! Like hundreds of millions of dollars expensive.
Article updated with news of a scheduled sentencing hearing.
There long were rumors that Craddock used some of the money raised allegedly for Zeek defense to refit his plane. Always found those… interesting. 🙂
This is not Craddocks first offense. He was convicted and served time in prison for “Pimping and Pandering”, living off the earnings of prostitutes in Las Vegas NV. We’re he owned multiple escort services.
It would appear that Karma is catching him again!
Is this site still active? I have questions/comments. Thanks!
You can ask but I haven’t kept track of Craddock post Zeek Rewards. He disappeared from MLM after his wire fraud case.