May.20, 2010, 6:22 PM
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on May 20, 2010, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, the following individual was arraigned:
Carl Lawrence Estep, a 66-year-old resident of Manhattan, appeared on charges of fraud and money laundering. He is currently detained. If convicted of these charges, Estepfaces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Archer is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The defendant pled not guilty to the charges.
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and all persons named as defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.