Indictment Filed in Alleged Racketeering, Theft Case

A local businessman faces more than 30 counts of various charges in connection to an investigation of alleged racketeering and theft activities at Sheriff’s Utility Buildings.

The Stephens County grand jury has indicted 41-year-old Shane Steven Sheriff on a total of 35 counts.

Charges include Theft By Deception, Forgery in the First Degree, Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony, and violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.

According to the indictment, the alleged crimes happened between October 2014 and March 2015.

27 of the charges deal with Theft By Deception.

Sheriff is also charged in the indictment with five counts of Forgery in the First Degree and two counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony, along with the RICO Act violation.

The indictment alleged that Sheriff unlawfully obtained money from BLI Rentals LLC, a Kansas based company that provides consumer financing for the purchase of outdoor sheds and utility buildings, through a pattern of criminal conduct whereby Sheriff would submit fraudulent and forged paperwork to BLI Rentals LLC for utility buildings that were never sold in order to defraud BLI, said Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Christian.

According to Christian, the total amount of the alleged theft loss is estimated at between $250,000 and $500,000.

The indictment stated that a RICO Act violation has been charged because Sheriff “did unlawfully maintain an interest in an enterprise commonly known as Sheriff’s Utility Buildings aka Sheriff’s Used Cars, through a pattern of racketeering activity.”

Arraignment for Sheriff is scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 11 in Stephens County Superior Court.