Milan man sentenced for fraud and firearms crimes
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Stephen A. Hall, 55, of Milan, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on January 20, after he pled guilty to several charges, including Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Tax Evasion, Money Laundering, Selling Firearms to Prohibited Persons and Selling Prohibited Weapons.

According to Susan W. Brooks, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, the case was the result of a three-year investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives and the Indiana State Excise Police.

Brooks noted that around 1997, Hall had convinced Floyd Werner to invest in a coal mining venture saying he (Hall) had the rights to mine a substantial amount. Werner invested approximately $1,500,000 over the next two years. Hall presented Werner with maps showing rights to mine coal and receipts for the purchase of coal mining equipment.

Hall's coal mining project was a scheme that was later discovered. He didn't have the rights to mine any property that contained substantial amounts of coal. The investigation revealed Hall had been "converting Werner's investments to cash that was then untraceable."

It was also discovered that Hall had been selling firearms to individuals he knew had felony convictions, according to a press release from the Office of the United States Attorney. During one sale he sold a silencer to someone he knew had a felony conviction.

After serving time in prison, U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton has imposed three years supervised release. During the time of supervised release, Hall must make restitution in the amount of $1,500,000.

Assistant United States Attorney Winfield D. Ong, prosecuted the case for the government.