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Kevin Richard Halligen, who made
millions by fraudulently claiming to be
a British spy, is scheduled to be
sentenced Thursday morning in D.C.
federal court.
From 2005 to 2008, Halligen lived a
lavish lifestyle in Washington, where he
offered high-priced services as a
security consultant by falsely claiming
a background in intelligence. His life
of luxury and boasts of involvement in
international intrigue crumbled when
many of the prominent Washington
personalities who had trusted him
started charging him with misusing their
money. Halligen fled to the United
Kingdom but eventually was apprehended
and extradited. He pleaded guilty to a
fraud charge in May.
Halligen, 51, has spent 43 months behind
bars in England and the U.S. — while
awaiting extradition and then again
while awaiting sentencing — longer than
the 33 to 41 months that federal
sentencing guidelines recommend for his
crime. Already, public defender David
Bos wrote for the defendant, "Mr.
Halligen has been punished far beyond
what is just."
Prosecutors agreed in their own
sentencing memo that Halligen should not
be sentenced to additional time above
the guidelines. The prosecution and the
defense asked U.S. District Judge
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in their
sentencing memos to order Halligen to be
deported immediately rather than
sentencing him to additional prison
time.
The case stems from Halligen's contract
with Trafigura, a company based in the
Netherlands that paid him nearly $12
million in less than a year to help free
two of its executives who had been
arrested in Ivory Coast. Rather than use
the money to influence American power
players to help Trafigura's cause as
promised, prosecutors said, Halligen
took a $2.1 million payment and bought a
$1.6 million house in cash the next day.
The rest of the money went to buy two
purebred dogs and help pay for an
over-the-top wedding that was perhaps
the most outrageous chapter of
Halligen's tale.
After wooing an American attorney,
Halligen invited about 100 guests to
their wedding at the Evermay estate in
Georgetown, where the happy couple
treated their guests to lamb, lobster
and a fireworks show.
But the minister was actually an actor —
and Halligen already had a wife in
England. He told his would-be bride a
few days before the ceremony that he
could not sign public documents because
of his role as a spy; all of the guests
were left in the dark.
In addition to the Trafigura case in
criminal court, several former
associates have sued Halligen for
similar alleged frauds in civil courts
in the United States and the United
Kingdom.
"The defendant's theft was an act of
unmitigated greed," prosecutors wrote.
"This theft was committed by a man who
had earned more in a year's time than
most will earn in a lifetime. Despite
this windfall, the defendant decided to
steal. There is no excuse or context for
his decision: Defendant saw a criminal
opportunity, and greed, not need, drove
him to take advantage of the
opportunity." |
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Update 1: |
Fake British spy ordered to leave
country "expeditiously" By Julie Zauzmer,
Updated: Thursday, June 27, 4:04 PM
Kevin Richard Halligen, who made
millions by fraudulently claiming to be
a British spy, was ordered to leave the
U.S. "expeditiously" by a federal judge
Thursday morning.
U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Halligen to 41
months of prison time, but because he
will get credit for the 43 months he has
already spent behind bars, he is likely
to be deported immediately.
From 2005 to 2008, Halligen lived a
lavish lifestyle in Washington, where he
offered high-priced services as a
security consultant by falsely claiming
a background in intelligence. His life
of luxury and boasts of involvement in
international intrigue crumbled when
many of the prominent Washington
personalities who had trusted him
started charging him with misusing their
money. Halligen fled to the United
Kingdom but eventually was apprehended
and extradited. He pleaded guilty to a
fraud charge in May.
Halligen, 51, has spent 43 months behind
bars in England and the U.S. — while
awaiting extradition and then again
while awaiting sentencing.
Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him to the
maximum recommended under federal
sentencing guidelines.
The case stems from Halligen's contract
with Trafigura, a company based in the
Netherlands that paid him nearly $12
million in less than a year to help free
two of its executives who had been
arrested in Ivory Coast. Rather than use
the money to influence American power
players to help Trafigura's cause as
promised, prosecutors said, Halligen
took a $2.1 million payment and bought a
$1.6 million house in cash the next day.
The rest of the money went to buy two
purebred dogs and help pay for an
over-the-top wedding that was perhaps
the most outrageous chapter of
Halligen's tale.
After wooing an American attorney,
Halligen invited about 100 guests to
their wedding at the Evermay estate in
Georgetown, where the happy couple
treated their guests to lamb, lobster
and a fireworks show.
But the minister was actually an actor —
and Halligen already had a wife in
England. He told his would-be bride a
few days before the ceremony that he
could not sign public documents because
of his role as a spy; all of the guests
were left in the dark.
In addition to the Trafigura case in
criminal court, several former
associates have sued Halligen for
similar alleged frauds in civil courts
in the United States and the United
Kingdom.
"The defendant's theft was an act of
unmitigated greed," prosecutors wrote.
"This theft was committed by a man who
had earned more in a year's time than
most will earn in a lifetime. Despite
this windfall, the defendant decided to
steal. There is no excuse or context for
his decision: Defendant saw a criminal
opportunity, and greed, not need, drove
him to take advantage of the
opportunity." |
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Update 2: |
Fake British spy ordered
to leave the U.S
By Julie Zauzmer,
Kevin Richard Halligen, who made
millions by fraudulently claiming to be
a British spy, was ordered to leave the
U.S. "expeditiously" by a federal judge
Thursday morning.
U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Halligen to 41
months of prison time, but because he
will get credit for the 43 months he has
already spent behind bars, he is likely
to be deported immediately.
Halligen must also pay $2.1 million in
restitution to the firm he pleaded
guilty to defrauding.
From 2005 to 2008, Halligen lived a
lavish lifestyle in Washington, where he
offered high-priced services as a
security consultant by falsely claiming
a background in intelligence. His life
of luxury and boasts of involvement in
international intrigue crumbled when
many of the prominent Washington
personalities who had trusted him
started charging him with misusing their
money.
Halligen fled to the United Kingdom but
eventually was apprehended and
extradited. He pleaded guilty to one
count of wire fraud in May.
Halligen, 51, has been in prison since
November 2009 in England and the U.S. —
while awaiting extradition and then
again while awaiting his guilty plea and
sentencing. Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him
to the maximum time recommended under
federal sentencing guidelines.
The case stems from Halligen's contract
with Trafigura, a company based in the
Netherlands that paid him nearly $12
million in less than a year to help free
two of its executives who had been
arrested in Ivory Coast.
"The victim in this case was
incredibly vulnerable, a fact that the
defendant capitalized on," Assistant
U.S. Attorney Maia Miller said at the
sentencing hearing. "This company was in
a highly vulnerable state and would have
spent anything."
Rather than use the money to influence
American power players to help
Trafigura's cause as promised, Miller
said, Halligen took a $2.1 million
payment and bought a $1.6 million house
in Great Falls in cash the next day.
The rest of the money went to buy two
purebred dogs and help pay for an
opulent wedding that was perhaps the
most stunning chapter of Halligen's
tale.
After wooing an American attorney,
Halligen invited about 100 guests to
their wedding at the Evermay estate in
Georgetown, where the happy couple
treated their guests to lamb, lobster
and a fireworks show.
But the minister was actually an actor —
and Halligen, a dual citizen of Ireland
and the United Kingdom, already had a
wife in England. He told his would-be
bride a few days before the ceremony
that he could not sign public documents
because of his role as a spy; all of the
guests were left in the dark.
Halligen said at his sentencing that he
takes "full responsibility" for his
actions but offered no words of remorse.
He said that though he misused the $2.1
million payment, the rest of the money
did fund more than 30 contractors whom
he said he employed to work
on Trafigura's case.
"I want to make it clear I was not
sitting on a little fortune of my own
$12 million," he said. His message to
the judge was simply, "I'm in your
hands."
He was represented by a public defender,
and Kollar-Kotelly found that he has
almost no financial assets to pay the
mandatory restitution that he owes. He
sold the Great Falls house in 2008.
In addition to the Trafigura case in
criminal court, several former
associates have sued Halligen for
similar alleged frauds in civil courts
in the United States and the United
Kingdom.
Miller, the prosecutor, pointed out that
Halligen had no financial need to
motivate his theft. "The motivation
behind this fraud is greed at an
astonishing magnitude," she said. |
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