When the FBI Comes Calling…®
January 20, 2002, Sunday
Omega Trust founder sentenced
The founder of an international money laundering scheme has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.
Clyde Hood, a retired Mattoon electrician, was the last of the 19 people indicted in August of 2000 to be sentenced. All the others pleaded guilty or were convicted. Hood, whose Omega Trust and Trading bilked investors out of millions of dollars, was penalized roughly one year per million dollars federal investigators could trace to accounts he controlled.
"I am very sorry for what I did, and I ask the judge to please have mercy on me," Hood said before his sentencing Friday. Defense attorney Douglas McNabb suggested five years, and U.S. Attorney Esteban Sanchez said 10 years would be fair.
But U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey said even though Hood's help in prosecuting others involved in the scam was noteworthy, a lesser sentence would diminish the seriousness of the crimes.
Still, Hood's sentence was not the longest. Earlier this month, Arlene Diamond, 65, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison. Diamond, 65, refused to cooperate with authorities and, according to prosecutors, tried to block the investigation once the indictments were issued.
Hood's wife, Patricia, has been sentenced to two years of probation with six months home detention. The two face a judgment in a restitution hearing this week.
Clyde Hood pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy, mail/wire fraud conspiracy and filing a false income tax return in exchange for having 14 other charges dropped.
Evidence showed Clyde Hood and the others convinced thousands of investors to give them money on the false premise that Hood had overseas connections trading international "prime bank" notes. Omega victims were promised a 50-to-1 return with 275 days and the chance to roll that over three more times for multi-million-dollar profits.
Hood testified that he eventually believed in the venture but then realized it was a "scam."
McNabb said Hood should get credit for helping with other prosecutions and because he passed a lie detector test with questions about where the money went. Prosecutors believe the scam took in more than $20 million, but they could trace only about $14 million.
"He is a really good guy who made a super bad mistake," McNabb said.
Sanchez said he is relieved that all the people indicted in the scam either admitted guilt or were prosecuted successfully, but said many people still believe their Omega investments will pay off.
"It's a chapter in this story that is closed, but there's a lot of work still to be done as far as forfeiture and restitution for the victims and we will continue to explore all avenues to bring justice for those involved before we come to resolve Omega," Sanchez told The News-Gazette of Champaign.