Man Receives Federal Sentence for Sending Ricin Letters to President Obama

After extensive wrangling with his plea deal, James Everett Dutsche was sentenced on Tuesday, May 20th, to 25 years in federal prison, after a one year trial, for sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama.

The 42-year-old Dutsche was a martial arts instructor before his arrest. Prosecutors said that he attempted to frame another man for the ricin letters, which he sent to the president, a senator, and a judge. He changed his story several times in the last week, which caused commotion with his sentence.

Among the changes to his story, Dutsche alleged that Kevin Curtis, who was originally investigated for the ricin letters, was trying to frame Dutsche, when originally Dutsche admitted to framing Curtis for the letters. He also claimed that the ricin letters did not actually contain ricin, and that he did not mail the letters himself.

However, by Friday, a prosecutor said that Dutsche had not formally withdrawn his original guilty plea, and by Monday’s hearing, Dutsche reaffirmed the ricin letters guilty plea himself. As part of his plea deal, the prosecution dropped two charges that allege that Dutsche attempted to mail ricin letters  from jail while he waited for his trial.

After he serves his sentence, which is not the maximum sentence in such a terrorism case, he will be on 5 years of supervised release.

Ricin Letters More Frequent

Federal authorities say that, although ricin-laced letters were a sporadic problem for many years, recently, several ricin copycat crimes have cropped up. They believe it is because manufacturing techniques have made extracting the poison much easier.

Ricin is a highly toxic, naturally occurring carbohydrate-binding protein. Whether inhaled, injected, or ingested, the poison inhibits protein synthesis. If untreated, death occurs within 3 to 5 days after exposure.

Three recent incidents of ricin letters led federal investigators on a wild chase through the postal system to several suspects, and eventually to Richardson. The letters had been mailed from Shreveport, Louisiana, last month.  Committing crimes through the postal service, including mail fraud, is a serious crime that can lead to serious consequences.

Defend Federal Criminal Charges In South Carolina

Being arrested or investigated for a crime can mean many things. What it does not mean is that you are guilty or that you have no rights. For experienced criminal defense attorneys who will fight for your rights and work to have your charges reduced or even dismissed, contact the criminal defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, LLC today for a free consultation to discuss our experience and knowledge of the system can help you.

Our federal criminal defense lawyers handle cases involving:

• Fraudulent insurance claims
• Bond issuances and investment schemes
• Falsifying loan applications
• Check fraud schemes
• Bribes or kickbacks
• False advertising or misrepresentation in sales transactions
• making a false statement to a loan officer or bank official
• deceiving a bank
• falsifying loan documents
• check fraud
• forging check signatures
• ATM fraud
• Embezzlement
• And other federal charges.

If you, your loved one, or your corporation has been contacted by a law enforcement officer about federal charges, you should contact the Strom Law Firm, LLC immediately. The Strom Law Firm offers free, confidential consultations so you can discuss the facts of your case with impunity. Contact us today.803.252.4800