Tuttle pleads guilty to wire fraud

Tuttle pleads guilty to wire fraud

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Freeborn County Commissioner Linda Tuttle pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one charge of wire fraud, a felony.

U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty accepted her plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.


Linda TuttleThe plea comes as part of an agreement between prosecutor Nancy E. Brasel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Tuttle’s lawyer, Kevin O’Connor Green.

Tuttle was the business owner of Albert Lea Abstract between 2003 and 2010. She admitted in court Tuesday to taking funds from escrow accounts and diverting them to her own purposes. The police investigation said she spent the money to support her gambling addiction.

The prosecution and defense disagree on how much she spent. Her lawyer contends it was $920,000, while the government says it was $1.1 million. Green said the two sides will have to negotiate a final dollar amount based on claims.

He said the criminal case in federal had been waiting for a civil case to settle. That case was with Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters. It settled earlier this month.

Green said Tuttle has taken gambling-addiction treatment at Project Turnabout in Granite Falls. In an interview outside the courtroom, he said her father also suffered from gambling addition. He said prescription drugs to treat restless-legs syndrome that are said to have the side effects of compulsive behavior still play a factor in how a successful businesswoman and county leader could “just run off a cliff.”

“We have records of her running five slot machines at a time for an eight-hour stretch,” Green said.

He said many people might not see gambling addiction or other compulsive behaviors as a disease but said they fit the disease models. “Either way, it’s real.”

He said Tuttle’s willingness to work with the federal prosecutors shows she wants to do her best to rectify her wrongful deeds.

“Her acceptance of responsibility is a big deal,” Green said.

Tuttle, whose full name is Linda K. Tuttle-Olson, declined to comment. Her husband, Steve Olson, sat in the gallery behind her during the plea hearing.

Doty deemed Tuttle was neither a threat to flee nor a threat to society. She was processed through the U.S. Marshals then released on a $25,000 bond. Her pre-sentencing conditions require that she not travel out of Minnesota, that she not gamble and that she not accept employment that requires fiduciary responsibility.

The condition requires that she not possess firearms. Green pointed out to Doty that Olson has hunting weapons locked in a gun cabinet. Doty asked a probation officer what she determined to be not possessing firearms, and she said as long as Tuttle does not have the key and never gains entry the cabinet. Doty asked Olson about the key. He replied that he is the only person with a key and only person who knows where it is stored.

The plea agreement requires that Tuttle cannot withdraw her plea and cannot appeal. She surrenders the right to trial by a jury of her peers, the right to a speedy trial and the right to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Doty was careful to step Tuttle through these and other rights she waived Tuesday, often asking “Do you understand?” Tuttle responded with, “Yes, sir,” to each.

Finally, the judge — the very same one who is considered one of the most influential men in pro football — asked, “Do you think you are guilty of the charge that is in this case?”

“Yes, sir,” Tuttle said.

“How do you plead?”

“I plead guilty, sir.”

Doty has overseen NFL labor-relations rulings for 20 years, though not the recent lockout ruling that presently is in the news.

Wire fraud is devising a scheme to obtain funds with false premises using an electronic communication. Doing it over state lines makes it a federal crime. Brasel in court gave an account of one such crime from June 11, 2008.

Brasel said $206,000 was wired to Home Federal Bank in Albert Lea from a bank in Price, Utah, with $190,000 in escrow. She said Tuttle took $190,000 from the trust account and used it for herself.

Brasel asked Tuttle if this was true, and Tuttle said yes.

This means that she was already committing fraud while campaigning for Freeborn County commissioner that summer of 2008. She was elected in November of that year to a four-year term. She was arrested in June 2010 and spent two days in the Freeborn County jail. She was charged on the state level that month; those charges were amended in July 2010. She resigned as a county commissioner on Aug. 1, 2010.

Brasel said during a period between January and June 2010 she created a scheme to defraud Albert Lea Abstract escrow accounts by writing checks to cash and to herself, then kiting checks to cover the balance. Kiting checks is relying on the time it takes for banks to take a paper check and transfer it into actual funds.

“To cover that, she wired many by interstate wire,” Brasel said.

Then Brasel asked Tuttle, who was under oath, if this was true. Tuttle said it was.

At the start of the hearing, Tuttle waived the right to be indicted by a grand jury rather than by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The judge will decide if Tuttle, 60, faces prison time. A sentencing date has yet to be determined.

Brasel talked in terms of offense levels, which is part of the U.S. federal sentencing guidelines. Brasel said Tuttle will have a base offense level of 7. The number of victims and the amount of the money loss or gained are factors that would increase or decrease the offense level.

Brasel contended there were 40 victims. Green allowed there were more than 10. The prosecution also contended that Tuttle abused public and private trust, which would increase the offense level she ends up with. She could get a reduced level if she follows guidelines. Brasel said that Tuttle probably will fall into the 51-to-78-month range. She mentioned supervised release along with a fine.

Other fraud charges still remain in Freeborn County District Court, though those could change status depending on the outcome of the federal case.