A Michigan man was sentenced Monday in federal court in Anchorage to 13 years in prison for crimes including stealing money from Alaskans and others through fake charitable organizations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta-Rae Randall said Alan Michael Bartlett, 46, targeted "soft people," vulnerable individuals who were willing to hand over money for what they believed was a good cause.
Prosecutors say Bartlett created two businesses, United States Disabled Veterans and United States Handicapped-Disadvantaged Services. The businesses claimed to sell products for donations, capital that would provide jobs for the handicapped. But there were no jobs, and Bartlett tried to pocket the donations.
"Bartlett took advantage of people who wanted to contribute to veteran charities, then stole from their bank accounts, submitted change of address forms in their names, used their monies to pay his bills, and then, to distract law enforcement and his victims," he blamed others, Randall wrote in the government's sentencing memorandum.
Bartlett submitted forged power-of-attorney forms with illegal notary seals to financial institutions that reversed transactions flagged for fraud, prosecutors said. All of the Alaskans who transferred money to Bartlett had their bank transactions reversed, according to testimony.
To dissuade one of his victims from reporting the crimes, Bartlett posed as a municipal law enforcement officer. Randall said Bartlett claimed to be an "Officer Phillips" from Arizona and told the victim two people had already been arrested in connection with the identity theft case.
The scheme started in 2010 and continued for nearly three years.
During Monday's sentencing, Randall characterized Bartlett as a skilled con man who refuses to accept responsibility for his actions despite his conviction.
"He's a fake, a fraud and a con artist. He's used what he's learned about the court system" to delay punishment, Randall said.
In July, Bartlett, of Owosso, Michigan, was found guilty of two counts of mail fraud, 20 counts of bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud, five counts of false statements to the U.S. Postal Service and five counts of aggravated identity theft. The conviction came more than two years after the government filed its charges.
Postal Service inspector Sonia Hacker testified Monday that she'd identified more victims than those covered in the charges. She said at least three have died, responding to a question from Bartlett's defense about why the alleged victims failed to seek restitution.
Hacker listed the amounts stolen from several victims before defense attorney Gilbert Levy objected, arguing a rundown of the funds was already detailed in court documents.
Levy started his sentencing remarks by arguing two objections at his client's request. Bartlett believes there were five victims who suffered no financial loss, and he clearly wrote in brochures that the businesses operated for profit, Levy said for Bartlett.
Levy also argued for some of the counts to be combined and several sentences to run at the same time. Levy said Bartlett would likely outlive his mother and have no help when released.
But U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline said Bartlett's danger to people was apparent. He called Bartlett a narcissist who doesn't care how his actions affect other people.
"You're very obnoxious … and it's tempting to consider this as a case where we should just throw away the key, but that's not how the court system works," Beistline said.