Pittsburgh理财顾问冒充劳工部雇员认罪：以审查退休计划为名劝企业把计划转给他
位于宾夕法尼亚州 Allegheny County 的 Pittsburgh 11月2日公布一宗冒充联邦雇员案件：当地一名持牌理财顾问兼贷款专员向联邦法院认罪，承认自己曾冒充美国劳工部雇员，借审查企业退休计划之名，劝说企业解聘原任顾问、把退休计划转交给他管理。
被告 Lazaven Mitchell 现年38岁，住 Pittsburgh。他于11月2日在高级联邦地区法官 David Stewart Cercone 面前，就一项冒充联邦官员或雇员罪认罪。联邦检察官 Troy Rivetti 当天宣布了这一认罪。
法庭在认罪程序中获悉，2024年4月至6月间，Mitchell 多次向 Pittsburgh 当地企业自称在劳工部下属的雇员福利安全管理局（Employee Benefits Security Administration，EBSA）工作。他联系企业，表明 EBSA 身份，要求审查企业的退休计划，以判断计划是否符合退休计划管理的相关规定。
审查之后，Mitchell 会指出计划存在某个合规问题，然后建议企业终止与现任顾问的合作、把计划转给他、由他担任计划管理人，还向企业主提供一封供其签字的解聘原顾问信函草稿。为把这套说法做实，他向企业发出的信函带有劳工部印章与 EBSA 在 Washington 的邮寄地址。
在与一名企业主的短信往来中，Mitchell 声称自己拿到了「劳工部的最终裁定」，并表示要到企业取回「劳工部调查的文件」。在给另一名企业主的短信中，他发送了一张伪造的名片：名片印有 EBSA 的名称与徽记、他的姓名与「雇员福利顾问」头衔，以及 William S. Moorhead 联邦大楼内一间套房的地址。
法官 Cercone 已将量刑日期定在2027年3月25日。法律规定，该罪最高可判3年监禁，并处以25万美元或其违法所得两倍金额中较高者的罚款，或两者并罚；实际刑期将按联邦量刑指南、罪行严重程度与被告的犯罪前科等因素裁定。
案件由联邦调查局（FBI）与劳工部督察长办公室查办，助理检察官 Brendan J. McKenna 代表政府起诉。
（来源：美国司法部）
Pittsburgh Financial Adviser Pleads Guilty to Impersonating a Labor Department Employee to Steal Retirement-Plan Business
Pittsburgh, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, saw a federal impersonation case resolved on November 2: a local licensed financial adviser and loan officer pleaded guilty in federal court to posing as a U.S. Department of Labor employee, using retirement-plan reviews to persuade businesses to fire their existing advisers and transfer their plans to him.
The defendant, Lazaven Mitchell, 38, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone to one count of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee. United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the plea on November 2.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on multiple occasions between April 2024 and June 2024, Mitchell presented himself to local businesses as working for the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). He would contact Pittsburgh businesses, identify himself as working for EBSA, and request to review the businesses' retirement plans to determine whether they were in compliance with the authorities governing retirement plans.
After reviewing a retirement plan, Mitchell would identify a compliance issue and then recommend that the business terminate its current adviser and transfer the plan to him to serve as the plan administrator, including providing the business owner with a draft letter for their signature that would terminate the old plan adviser. To effectuate this, he sent businesses letters bearing the Department of Labor seal and EBSA's mailing address in Washington, D.C.
In text messages with one business owner, Mitchell referenced having 'a final determination from the DOL' and coming to the business to retrieve 'the documents for the Department of Labor inquiry.' In a text to a different business owner, he sent a fictitious business card bearing EBSA's name and crest, his name with the title 'Employee Benefit Advisor,' and an address for a suite within the William S. Moorhead Federal Building.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for March 25, 2027. The law provides for a total maximum sentence of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain to Mitchell, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Pittsburgh 的 Joseph F. Weis Jr. 联邦法院大楼（宾州西区联邦地区法院所在地）。Nyttend 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Pittsburgh, home of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Photo by Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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