Former Bail Bondsman conspired with Licensed Drug Counselor to conceal violations of federal defendants from United States Probation and Pretrial Services and Federal Judges
Anthony Evans Owings Seen, a/k/a “Tony”, age 31, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to obstruct of justice and obstruction of justice, in connection with concealing violations by both pretrial and supervised release defendants from United States Probation and Pretrial Services and Federal Judges.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; William F. Henry, Chief, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, District of Maryland; and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office.
Co-conspirator Jennifer Hamersky, a/k/a Jennifer Maroney a/k/a Jennifer Hurt, age 33, of Severn, Maryland previously pled guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2017 at 9:15 a.m.
Co-conspirator Hamersky, a Clinical Professional Addictions Counselor, licensed by the State of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was also a contractor who provided services for USPO. Specifically, Hamersky worked with defendants in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, including mental health and substance abuse counseling, and urinalysis testing.
Person A was on pretrial release under the supervision of USPO with conditions which included attending individual and group counseling sessions and submitting to random urinalysis testing. Person S was on supervised release under the supervision of USPO with conditions that included not possessing or using controlled substances.
Hamersky served as Person A’s pretrial release substance abuse and mental health counselor from September 2015 through February 2016, and again from August 2016 through February 2017. Hamersky was responsible for communicating Person A’s compliance with pretrial release conditions regarding potential violations involving counseling and urinalysis testing to USPO. As part of her duties as a substance abuse counselor Hamersky also had access to Person S’s urinalysis testing schedule.
According to court documents, Seen and Hamersky conspired to obstruction of justice in an effort to conceal from USPO officers and U.S. Magistrate and District Court Judges, Person A’s and Person S’s violations of their conditions of release including the use of narcotic drugs, failure to appear for urinalysis testing, and failure to appear for counseling sessions.
From September 2016 through February 2017, Seen conspired with Hamersky to prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer and U.S. Magistrate and District Court Judges information relating to violations of Person A’s and Person S’s conditions of release. Seen and Hamersky also used cocaine, oxycodone and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, otherwise known as MDMA, while Defendant Seen was on federal supervised release.
In November 2016, Seen met with Person A at Seen’s bail bonds shop in Glen Burnie, Maryland so that Person A could sign his USPO November 2016 and December 2016 reports reflecting Person A’s attendance at urinalysis testing and counseling sessions. At the time Seen knew that Person A had not attended urinalysis testing and counseling sessions. Seen then provided Person A’s reports to Hamersky who submitted them to USPO. Following his meeting with Person A and in an effort to conceal Seen and Hamersky’s conspiracy, Seen sent a text message to Person A asking Person A to delete any text messages between Seen and Person A and any texts messages between Hamersky and Person A.
In November 2016, Person S asked Seen for information about his urinalysis testing schedule so that Person S could consume controlled substances and avoid detection by USPO. Seen then contacted Hamersky who informed Seen that Person S would not have an upcoming urinalysis test. Seen then provided this urinalysis testing information to Person S.
In December 2016, after learning that Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating, Seen then told Hamersky to go onto a federal court website to determine if Person A was meeting with law enforcement representatives.
In January 2017, Person A missed a urinalysis test and contacted Seen for help in covering-up the missed test. Hamersky and Seen then discussed whether to help Person A and Hamersky then left a voicemail message for Person A’s USPO agent stating that Person A was in compliance when both Hamersky and Seen knew that Person A had missed his urinalysis test.
Seen faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and twenty years in prison for the obstruction of justice count. Seen remains detained pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 15, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, USPO, and DEA for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Phil Selden and Rachel Yasser, who prosecuted the case.
