Man who tricked judge into awarding $3M default judgment against sex-crime victim gets more time
Already convicted more than a decade ago in an Ohio sex-crime case involving two 14-year-old victims, a Washington, D.C., man is now facing another five-year term for schemes involving deception.
One targeted a victim in the 2000 sex-crime case, and resulted in a $3 million default judgment in favor of David Copeland-Jackson. Authorities said he tricked a District of Columbia judge, who was unaware of the earlier conviction, by filing a 2007 lawsuit against the unidentified individual, failing to serve the suit on the defendant, and filing pleadings for both sides, the Washington Post’s The Crime Scene blog reports..
Copeland-Jackson, who was on parole in the Ohio case at the time of the 2007 civil filing, was also sentenced Monday for mail fraud. Authorities said he got more than $60,000 in federal student financial aid by enrolling eight people in online colleges and collecting their checks between 2005 and 2009.
His co-defendant, paralegal Peter J. Brandel Sr. of Ohio, awaits sentencing.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Paralegal Guilty in Fake-Libel-Suit Scam That Briefly Won $3M”
