By Betsy Z. Russel
The Spokesman-Review
BOISE, Idaho — It’s clear that Mark Brown is a smart guy, maybe even borderline brilliant.
But what’s astounding is the way prosecutors say he apparently pulled off a major, years-long financial fraud, taking in big corporations, courts and attorneys across the nation, all from behind bars in an Idaho prison cell. Investigators believe he used a cherished electric typewriter that he was allowed to keep in his small, spare cell, and legal ads found in national newspapers including The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, to make fraudulent claims in big class-action lawsuits and bankruptcies.
He’s alleged to have typed up professional-looking legal documents, false letters from law firms and more, and made skillful use of the “legal mail” exception for inmates that allows for correspondence with attorneys and judges without review from prison staff. Big checks poured in — Brown’s take in multiparty lawsuits, including a $70 million GlaxoSmithKline drug-pricing settlement and a $20 million IBM shareholders’ settlement. Authorities say Brown collected close to $64,000 through those settlements and deposited the money in his prison trust account, which inmates can use for things like commissary purchases. He then transferred much of it out to an investment account that authorities have targeted for potential forfeiture.
Brown is now facing a 12-count federal indictment for mail fraud and awaiting a September trial.
Full story: Inmate uses typewriter to steal thousands of dollars, feds say