Virginia man pleads guilty to possession of stolen money
According to a press release, 35-year-old Joshua Sneed, of Bluefield, Virginia, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen money on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Investigation underway after student found with gun at Richlands High School
The press released stated that according to court documents, on March 15, 2024, Sneed was a title clerk for a car sales and service business in the Bluefield area of Mercer County, when a customer bought a 2008 Bentley Continental for $37,761, which was then put into the business's safe.
On March 27, 2024, Sneed used his access to the computer system to change the transaction to a credit card purchase from a cash purchase, and later admitted to the change to hide the fact that he did not deposit the $37,761 into the business's bank account, the release noted. Sneed also confessed to the fact that he took the funds from the business to his home in the Bluefield area of Tazewell County, Virginia.
On March 27, 2024, Sneed prepared a bank deposit slip for $60,100 for the business, and later prepared a second slip for $60,222.10 on April 9, 2024. Sneed confessed that he prepared the slips to hide his theft from the business for several months, the release stated.
Sneed attempted to change the record for the Bentley Continental purchase back to a cash transaction from a credit card purchase in the computer system, but discovered that the system did not allow him to change transaction histories for March 2024. His employment with the business was terminated on April 15, 2024.
Illinois woman pleads guilty to marriage fraud and perjury in West Virginia
Sneed is set to be sentenced on July 7, 2025 and he faces up to ten years in prison, three years of probation, as well as a $250,000 fine, and owes a minimum of $120,322.10 in restitution.
The announcement came from the office of Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, who thanked the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
a day ago
- Fox News
Three states sign new agreements with ICE for expanded immigration enforcement operations
EXCLUSIVE: Three new states have signed agreements of varying intensity and substance, with one governor 1,700 miles away from Mexico saying his is effectively a "border state" due to its major fentanyl crisis. On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey will announce one of the most wide-ranging agreements a state has forged with ICE yet, enlisting the West Virginia State Police, Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and National Guard to aid immigration enforcement through the "287(g)" authority heralded by President Donald Trump. West Virginia has long ranked among the states with the highest rates of drug-related deaths, a crisis that Morrisey says underscores the need to work with ICE to combat fentanyl trafficking. "Under the Biden administration, millions of people poured into our country unlawfully and we had no knowledge about who they were, or whether they were a threat to our nation," Morrisey told Fox News Digital ahead of his expected Wednesday mid-morning announcement in Parkersburg. "West Virginia became an effective 'border state' due to the massive fentanyl problem caused by illegal immigration," he said. The National Guard and state police will have "task force" authority to interrogate any person believed to be an illegal immigrant as to his right to remain in the U.S. – under the supervision or direction of the feds. Officers will be able to process immigration-related violations for those arrested for state or federal offenses, and can also make warrantless arrests of any illegal immigrant in the officer's "presence or view" if that person is believed to be a flight risk in the interim of obtaining a warrant. Morrisey also authorized state law enforcement to serve immigration warrants, administer oaths and collect evidence for "required alien processing," including fingerprints and suspect interviews. Unlike some other states, West Virginia law enforcement will also be able to issue immigration detainers, prepare documents for approval from federal ICE officers and arrest felonious aliens who have the penchant to escape. West Virginia Division of Corrections will be permitted to hold immigrants on detainer, so long as the actions fall under federal auspices. Corrections officers will be able to follow the federal "warrant officer model," which includes serving warrants for immigration violations in jails and transferring custody to the feds. Farther west, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden recently announced cooperation with ICE to a lesser extent with his "Operation Prairie Thunder" public safety crackdown. Rhoden, who rose to the governorship upon the departure of now-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, announced earlier this month that Operation Prairie Thunder would be a "comprehensive, targeted public safety initiative" in the state – with a focus on the Sioux Falls metro area. The anti-crime effort seeks to interdict drugs, probe gang activity and "deter lawlessness." It includes a "comprehensive effort to support the work of [ICE], secure our borders and deport illegal alien criminals," according to a statement. The South Dakota Highway Patrol will be able to assist ICE, and six South Dakota National Guard soldiers will be tasked with helping the agency with administrative functions. "Our work alongside ICE boils down to this: Highway Patrol will support ICE with arrests," Rhoden said. "The National Guard will support ICE with processing and administrative functions. And DOC will support ICE with transportation, identifying illegal immigrants in our prisons, and getting them paroled to ICE custody." In Arkansas, a state law took effect this week that increases penalties for illegal immigrants committing "serious felonies involving violence," among other stipulations. The "Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act," signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, also allowed Arkansas sheriffs to engage with ICE. It allows law enforcement to apply via 287(g) to be authorized to serve immigration warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody for other offenses. Arkansas State Police will go beyond the minimum cooperation required by the law, according to the Arkansas Times. Cops will be able to stop people in public and ask them their immigration status – and potentially arrest suspected violators. A spokeswoman for the state police told the outlet that troopers must undergo training before any can work in an immigration-related capacity. The regimen includes a 40-hour online course laying out officers' "scope of authority, immigration law, civil rights law, cross-cultural issues, liability issues, complaint procedures and obligations under federal law," the spokeswoman said. Sanders credited Trump with making border security a top priority and obtaining results. "The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe," the former Trump press secretary said in a statement. Those states join Florida and Wyoming, the first two to sign substantive 287(g) agreements with ICE.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Former LAPD officer arrested for kidnapping while being investigated for insurance fraud
A former Los Angeles Police Department officers was arrested on kidnapping allegations just months after he was previously arrested for insurance fraud. Eric "Ben" Halem was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of kidnapping for ransom, LAPD officials confirmed with CBS News Los Angeles. They did not provide additional details on the allegations. Halem most recently served with the department as a reserve officer, but also worked as a sworn officer in the past. He is currently being held without bail. He was arrested in March for allegedly staging photos of a crash to file a phony insurance claim. He and his brother, Jacob, are accused of creating a fake crash site after a customer of his luxury car rental service crashed a Bentley Continental GT in Jan. of 2023, police said in May. After his initial insurance claim was denied, Halem then filed a claim under his personal insurance and allegedly said that his brother crashed the car three days after the first crash occurred. Investigators say that the duo staged the car on a tow truck and provided false statements to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies who were dispatched to the scene of the alleged fake crash. Halem was released from custody at that time after posting bond. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the matter.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Father of Montreal girl who was found dead in N.Y. charged with 2nd-degree murder
The father of the nine-year-old Montreal girl who was found dead after being reported missing in northeastern New York was arrested Monday morning and charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse. New York State Police said officers from the Warren County Sheriff's Office received a call Saturday at around 10 p.m. ET from a man who said his daughter was missing from the area of Exit 22 of Highway I-87 in Lake George, possibly due to an abduction. They said the child was identified as Melina Frattolin and her father as 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin. Both were later confirmed to be Montreal residents. Robert McConnell, Bureau of Criminal Investigation captain for the New York State Police, told reporters at a news conference on Monday morning that the father and daughter had been on vacation in the United States since July 11. Melina resided full time with her mother and Frattolin would visit the child when he was in Canada. The parents had been estranged since 2019, police said. McConnell explained that the trip was planned and that the mother was aware of it and had no concerns about Melina being with her father. Frattolin and his daughter were expected to return to Canada on Saturday, July 19, at which time Melina would be returned to her mother's custody in Montreal. According to McConnell, at about 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, video surveillance images showed the girl and her father in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Around 6:30 p.m. ET, Melina spoke to her mother on the phone and told her they were going back to Canada. WATCH | N.Y. State Police provide update on the investigation: The child appeared to be in good health and did not indicate she was under any duress. Sometime after that call and before Frattolin's call to the police, the man allegedly murdered his daughter and left her body in a remote area, said McConnell. Melina was found dead in the shallow water of a pond on Sunday at approximately 1:50 p.m. ET in Ticonderoga, N.Y., about 50 kilometres east of Lake George, near the New York-Vermont border. The charges against Frattolin allege he concealed her body under a log. The Warren County Sheriff's Office initially led the investigation and transferred it to the New York State Police. As the case progressed, officers identified inconsistencies in the father's account of events and the timeline of Melina's disappearance. Police refute Frattolin's initial abduction account McConnell shared the suspect's initial account with reporters. According to him, Frattolin told police he had stopped his car in the area of Exit 22 in Lake George to urinate, left his vehicle to go into a wooded area and when he returned to the car, his daughter was gone. Frattolin reported a white van fleeing the scene southbound. And in a subsequent interview, he mentioned two unknown men who forced Melina into the white van. "That lead was thoroughly investigated and disproven," said McConnell, adding that the suspect has no domestic violence or criminal history. "He fabricated the initial report of the abduction." Frattolin appeared at the Ticonderoga town court on Monday. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment, according to court officials. The public defender's office assigned to defend Frattolin did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment from The Associated Press. The victim's cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy which is scheduled for later today. On the website of a company called Gambella Coffee, the girl's father was described as someone who "spends as much time as he can in Montreal, Canada with his beautiful daughter Melina." By Monday morning, the link to the website was broken. Melina was described as the "light of his life, she is the inspiration for…well, everything." The company is headquartered in downtown Montreal.
