Too Clever for his Own Good

BENTON, Ill. (CN) - A California man was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for scamming another federal prison inmate. Michael R. Ussery, 34, of Stockton, pretended to be a DEA informer, and promised the inmate he could earn a shorter sentence if he paid for undercover drug investigations.

The unidentified prisoner paid Ussery $36,500 in installments and Ussery transferred another $145,000 from the inmate's account to his own.

Ussery pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud.

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