Robert Ray Sayne Receives 77-Month Prison Sentence

April 30, 2010 - GREENEVILLE, TN—Robert Ray Sayne, 33, of Newport, Tennessee , was sentenced in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, at Greeneville, to serve 77 months in prison. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea by Sayne on November 9, 2009, to a federal indictment charging him with making false statements to a United States Probation Officer and to wire fraud. The sentence also resulted from a guilty plea to six violations of terms of supervised release. The Honorable Ronnie Greer, United States District Judge sentenced Sayne to serve 41 months in prison on each of the false statement and wire fraud charges to run concurrently and to serve an additional 36 months in prison on the probation violation charges to run consecutive to the other charges, for a total sentence of 77 months. Sayne has remained in federal custody since his arrest at the James H. Quillen United States Courthouse on January 20, 2009.

Sayne was convicted of bank fraud in 2003, sentenced to serve 51 months in prison and ordered on supervised release for five years after his release from prison in January 2008. Shortly after his release from federal prison, Sayne submitted false documents to his supervising probation officer, provided false information to his probation officer, failed to comply with terms of his release, and engaged in an entirely new wire fraud scheme involving credit cards and debit cards. He stole more than $40,000 from a Florida credit card processor and depleted the equity in his grandmother’s home through a reverse mortgage.

James R. Dedrick, United States Attorney, stated that the integrity of the United States Probation Office and the protection of the credit card system are important to the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys Office. “The United States Probation Office serves as the eyes and ears of the federal judges. The entire system of supervised release and probation depends upon the candor of individuals who complete that process. We will be vigilant in protecting the integrity of the probation process and in protecting the safety of our credit and debit financial system.”

The United States Probation Office and the FBI participated in the investigation and prosecution of Sayne. Helen Smith, Assistant United States Attorney, represented the United States.