Columbia, South Carolina –------- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Jeffery Michael Patterson entered a plea of guilty on charges of making a false statement to federal agents.  Patterson faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  Patterson will be sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain after the completion of a presentence investigation.

The facts presented at the guilty plea hearing established that Patterson was employed at a local FAA approved airplane repair and service facility.  During the course of a routine evaluation of employees, Patterson represented that he had FAA certifications to do certain work on airplanes.  The repair facility tried to verify this information through the FAA and was advised that Patterson held none of the certifications that he claimed to have.  The matter was then referred to the Inspector General (IG) of the Federal Department of Transportation for investigation.  IG Special Agents interviewed Patterson, and he made false statements to them to include the false statement that he had the FAA certifications but that they were under other names because his name had been changed numerous times by the Treasury department to protect his family from drug dealers who had been investigated by his father while working as a drug enforcement officer.  At the guilty plea hearing, Patterson admitted that this story was bogus.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens of the Greenville Office.

 

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