Jury Convicts Ex-employee Of Transporting Stolen Property And Money Laundering After $390,000 Disappeared From Armored Truck
HELENA – A jury on Thursday convicted a Helena man who worked for GardaWorld of multiple crimes after he was accused of taking money stolen from an armored truck and spending it gambling and shopping in Las Vegas, day trading and traveling to France, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The jury found John Gregory Alexander Herrin, 30, of Helena, guilty of one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and eight counts of money laundering. The jury acquitted Herrin on four counts of money laundering and attempted witness tampering.
Herrin faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering crimes.
The trial began on Monday, with U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon presiding. Judge Haddon set sentencing for May 19 and ordered Herrin detained.
“Those who transport or spend stolen money or money from illegal activities will be caught and convicted in federal court. Greed doesn’t pay. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Racicot and Michael Kakuk, the FBI and the Secret Service for their work investigating and prosecuting this case,” U.S. Attorney Alme said.
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In evidence presented at trial, the prosecution said that on Nov. 20, 2013, three bags containing $390,000 went missing from a GardaWorld truck. Helena employees initially loaded the money into a truck and drove to Missoula, where they met Missoula employees and transferred some currency bags to another truck for local delivery. While in Missoula, the Helena employees left their truck locked, but unattended, several times while servicing banks and ATMs before continuing to Kalispell. After arriving in Kalispell, employees discovered three bags containing $390,000 were missing.
Herrin worked for Garda from 2012 until 2014. An internal investigation by Garda was unable to definitively implicate anyone in the theft.
Not long after the theft, the prosecution said, Herrin’s financial situation drastically changed.
Herrin went to Las Vegas twice in January 2014 and again in July 2014. While in Las Vegas, Herrin stayed at a high-end casino, gambled and went shopping with a female companion. He made large cash deposits at the casino and bought a watch for $22,600 with cash. On return from his first trip, Herrin deposited a casino cashier’s check for $123,500 and $37,350 cash, for a total of $160,870, into his checking account. Prior to the deposit, Herrin’s account had a $945.65 balance. Herrin told the bank teller he went to Las Vegas with $500 and won $160,000 gambling. While the teller was counting the cash, a Garda courier came into the bank to make a pick up. Herrin walked away from the counter and sat at an online banking station until the courier left. He then returned to the counter to complete his transaction.
On his second trip to Las Vegas, Herrin’s buy in at the casino was $50,100 cash and he lost $50,000. He also used his Visa credit card to buy more than $30,000 in merchandize from luxury retail stores and transferred money from his checking account to pay down the card balance.
After the second Las Vegas trip, Herrin went to his bank with a shoe box full of $20 bills for deposit into his checking account. The day before the deposit, the account balance was $3,550. Herrin told the teller he wasn’t sure how much money was in the box but that he had “another big score” in Vegas. He thought he had about $120,000.
Herrin also told the teller he didn’t have a job but was doing some day trading. During the transaction, another Garda courier entered the bank. Herrin had already turned his back on the courier, seemingly in an effort not to be seen by the Garda employee.
In addition to the Las Vegas trips, Herrin started day trading in 2014. He opened an account with Ameritrade, deposited $111,100 and had significant losses. His losses were inconsistent with statements he made to bank employees that he was making money day trading.
In March 2014, Herrin traveled to France with a female companion and charged the trip to his Visa card. The trip cost more than $20,000.
In the spring of 2014, Herrin moved to Springfield, MO, and used his Visa card to enroll in college and for living expenses.
By the fall, Herrin’s financial situation turned dire. In January 2015, he owed $17,753 on his Visa card, and in February 2015, Ford Motor Credit repossessed his car, which he had purchased about one month before the Garda theft.
In interviews with law enforcement, all of the Garda employees denied knowledge about and involvement in the disappearance of the $390,000. A former employee, who was also a roommate of Herrin’s, indicated that Herrin had showed him a casino check for gambling proceeds purportedly won in January 2014. He also indicated Garda employees left trucks unattended from time to time against company policy and that a broom handle could be used to unlock the trucks. The former employee also told law enforcement he had seen Herrin unlock a truck using a broom handle.
Herrin’s former female companion told law enforcement she responded to his Craigslist ad seeking company for a trip to Las Vegas. Herrin gave her money, took her shopping and bought her a $5,000 Louis Vuitton bag and more than $2,000 in dresses. After the France trip, the pair had a falling out.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Racicot and Michael Kakuk prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Secret Service.