By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
An out of work logger who blew up his own rural Chehalis mailbox in an attempt to make people believe he was a “private eye” with key information about a $90 million Ponzi scheme under investigation has been convicted of numerous federal charges in a trial that ended this week in U.S. District Court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kevin W. Williams, 45, was taken into custody Wednesday and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced, according to a news release.
Williams was convicted after a seven day jury trial in Tacoma of nine federal felony charges, including extortion, wire fraud and possession of firearms either unregistered or without a serial number, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Emily Langlie.
According to case records and trial testimony, Williams hatched a scheme in 2007 to make money by claiming he had information of value to victims of a massive Ponzi scheme fraud based in the Atlanta, Georgia area, Langlie wrote. His step-mother and brother-in-law were victims of the Ponzi fraud, according to case documents.
In a bid to gain credibility, the Doty resident blew up his own mailbox on Chandler Road with a pipe bomb on Oct. 21, 2007, according to federal prosecutors. The blast, which would have badly injured Williams if it had occurred as he described, was investigated by Lewis County sheriff’s detectives and ultimately by ATF agents and U.S. Postal inspectors, according to case documents.
Williams suggested he was targeted by someone who didn’t want him to reveal the information he had about the Ponzi scheme, according to case documents.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Office case documents go on to describe Williams threatening the Atlanta fraud victims who he wanted to be hired by. In the spring of 2008, Williams showed up for the Atlanta Ponzi trial and was arrested when local police searched his van and found a variety of guns, ammunition, blasting caps, rocket motors, metal pipe sections and a copy of the “Anarchists Cookbook”, assistant U.S. attorneys wrote.
After his arrest, one of William’s friends sent a note to the F.B.I. about the October mailbox bombing Williams had staged, prosecutors wrote.
In July 2009, Williams was indicted in the Western District of Washington and in June of this year, further charges were added, according to the assistant U.S. attorneys.
A jury deliberated about three hours and convicted Williams on all counts, according to Langlie.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 23.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter