Ex-Police Officer Guilty of Fraud & Other Crimes

Convictions for Multiple Crimes and Insurance Fraud Affirmed

Barry Zalma

Dec 27, 2024

Transcript

FACTUAL HISTORY

Von Harris (“Harris”), an ex-police officer, appealed his conviction and sentence following a jury trial. In State Of Ohio v. Von Harris, 2024-Ohio-5808, No. 113618, Court of Appeals of Ohio (December 12, 2024) he claimed multiple errors at trial, almost all of which were affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

FACTUAL HISTORY

The jury found Harris guilty of bribery, forgery, and insurance fraud based upon Harris allegedly facilitating payment to an East Cleveland police officer in exchange for police reports, forging signatures on police reports, and creating false police reports to recover insurance proceeds. Harris worked as an East Cleveland police officer from 1997 through November 2017, although he was no longer so employed when he committed the alleged offenses. Harris’s alleged actions were taken at the request of George Michael Riley, Sr. (“Riley”) who, unbeknownst to Harris, was an FBI informant.

George Michael Riley

Starting in 2015 or 2016, Riley owned and operated several businesses in East Cleveland, Ohio, including a demolition business. Riley received special favors or work assignments from the City of East Cleveland or the Cuyahoga County Land Bank that earned him millions of dollars.

Riley testified that Harris, while employed as an East Cleveland police officer, completed favors for him.

Von Harris

Harris testified that he met Riley in 2015 or 2016 while Harris worked as an East Cleveland police officer. Harris further testified that after leaving the police force, Riley hired him to work as his part-time office manager and the men discussed working together as business partners in the demolition business. Riley did not pay Harris a salary as an office manager but paid him in cash for completed tasks.

Special Agent Shaun Roth

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) began an investigation into corruption in Northeast Ohio with Special Agent Shaun Roth (“Agent Roth”) assigned as the task force coordinator. In November 2017, Riley informed the FBI about bribes he presented to East Cleveland officials and his relationship with Harris.

AUTO RECOVERY REPORTS

On January 23, 2024, the trial court sentenced Harris to six months in the county jail on Count 15; 12 months in prison on Counts 6, 8, 11, and 13; and 24 months in prison on Counts 5 and 10, with all counts running concurrent to one another for a total of 24 months in prison.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

A sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge requires a determination of whether the State has met its burden of production at trial. Von Harris did knowingly solicit or accept for himself or another person any valuable thing or valuable benefit, to wit: U.S. Currency, to corrupt or improperly influence East Cleveland Police Department.

The jury found Harris guilty of bribery and the trial court’s January 22, 2024 sentencing judgment entry states Harris was sentenced on Counts 5 and 10. However, the Court of Appeals found that the State failed to prove Harris violated the bribery statute and that his bribery convictions must be vacated.

FORGERY

The record showed that Harris conceded he prepared the false incident reports and auto recovery reports. Harris testified that the information contained in the false incident reports was correct – meaning that the 2003 and 2004 Dodge Ram trucks were, in fact, stolen – and he never filed the reports with the East Cleveland Division of Police. Those facts did not negate the jury’s finding that Harris was guilty of forgery. The evidence demonstrated that Harris signed the four reports with Nevels’s signature without having authority to do so and presented them to Riley under the premise that Nevels signed the documents. There was sufficient evidence to support the forgery convictions as charged.

INSURANCE FRAUD

The jury found Harris guilty of insurance fraud and the record shows that Harris was told the auto recovery reports would be submitted to Riley’s insurance company so that Riley could recover insurance proceeds. Harris created the auto recovery reports to be submitted for that purpose. Harris’s actions satisfied the elements of the statute when he created the auto recovery reports knowing that Riley intended to present those documents to Riley’s insurance carrier to make a false claim. There was sufficient evidence to support the insurance fraud conviction.

ENTRAPMENT

Harris requested a jury instruction on the affirmative defense of entrapment that the trial court refused to provide. Harris had the burden of proving the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. The pertinent question was whether the government overcame the will of a reluctant, otherwise law-abiding person. The evidence shows Harris readily acquiesced to the offered inducements and the evidence demonstrated a predisposition on the part of Harris. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of entrapment, and Harris’s first assignment of error is overruled.

MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE

A manifest weight challenge questions the credibility of the evidence presented and examines whether the State met its burden of persuasion at trial. Harris argued that no reasonable fact finder could have identified Harris as the perpetrator of the charged crimes. The Court of Appeals concluded that Harris’s forgery and insurance fraud convictions were not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Judgment affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

ZALMA OPINION

There is no criminal more reviled than a retired police officer who turns to a life of crime. Harris fell into a life of crime after leaving the police by working with an FBI informant to commit fraud, insurance fraud, forgery and other crimes. He convinced the Court of Appeal on one count but will still serve time in jail and state prison.

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