Friday, October 19, 2007

Witness tampering......

Former National Century chief arrested on witness-tampering charges
Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:15 PM
By Tracy Turner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The former president and chief executive of National Century Financial Enterprises was arrested today in Tampa, Fla., on charges of witness tampering.

Lance K. Poulsen, now of Port Charlotte, Fla., also was charged with federal conspiracy and obstruction of justice, said J. Mark Batts, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Cincinnati division.

Karl A. Demmler, of Columbus, was also arrested on the same charges, the FBI said.

Poulsen is accused of using Demmler to “frequently contact a witness for the government … to offer her cash in exchange for her not giving damaging testimony against Poulsen in his federal fraud trial.” That trial is scheduled to begin in February.

Poulsen, along with seven other National Century executives, was indicted this summer on charges of conspiring to defraud investors by diverting more than $2 billion in investors’ funds, falsifying data in investor’s reports and diverting funds to conceal investors’ shortfalls.

National Century, a health-care financing company, was based in Dublin. It filed for bankruptcy in November 2002.

If convicted of the charges, Poulsen could face life in prison, the FBI said.

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