United States Attorney
Eastern District of Oklahoma

April 3, 2009

WILBURTON WOMAN SENTENCED TO 60 MONTHS FOR BANK FRAUD

MUSKOGEE, OK—Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JANICE LYNN RATLIFF, age 53, of Wilburton, Oklahoma was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment for Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344.

“Charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling.  “From about September 2004 through April 2005, RATLIFF devised a scheme and artifice to defraud The Bank N.A. of McAlester, Oklahoma.”

“Under the scheme, the defendant opened a bank account with The Bank N.A., using forged and fraudulent documents.  She then made deposits, into that account, of 10 checks totaling $116,430.84, made payable to Wynn’s Electronics.  RATLIFF further diverted and cashed checks form Wynn’s Electronics at Wilburton State Bank and Latimer State Bank.  The total loss of the scheme to defraud was $484,023.62.  RATLIFF was employed by Wynn’s Electronics at the time of the offenses,” continued U.S. Attorney Sperling.

“During the offenses, RATLIFF served as the office manager of the business entity Jim Wynn, Inc., the holding company of a Radio Shack franchise, in Wilburton,” reported U.S. Attorney Sperling.  “The defendant oversaw inventory management, managed other employees, processed employee payrolls and her own payroll information, and was responsible for recording and processing payments by vendors.  She was also responsible for making bank deposits for the business.”
“The Honorable James H. Payne, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over yesterday’s hearing.  RATLIFF was ordered to report to the Bureau of Prisons on May 15, 2009 to begin serving her sentence.”

“First Assistant United States Attorney Doug Horn represented the United States.”