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May 23, 2003
Clutching her son's hand through much of their sentencing proceeding yesterday, convicted swindler Gilda Seifried begged not be sent to jail.
"Please don't separate us," the 65-year-old Seifried said. "I love him very much. He's the only friend I have. ... Please give us another chance."
Her son, Abraham Posner, 30, convicted with her in the same Internet fraud, likewise asked for leniency, saying, "I want to apologize for what I did."
Their voices could not be heard in the courtroom, because mother and son both have been profoundly deaf since birth. Their signing was being interpreted in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
Although the two admitted to defrauding 119 people over the Internet, many of them low-income or retired, they asked that they not have to serve any jail time because their disability would leave them open to mistreatment or abuse in a prison.
Seifried's attorney, federal public defender Randi Chavis, and Posner's attorney, Richard Haley of Hauppauge, suggested that because of their clients' deafness and contrition it would be appropriate to sentence them to home detention or community service.
A federal prosecutor, however, argued the two should not be treated differently because of their handicap and should receive 12 to 18 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Baker was joined by victims who wrote asking for the maximum sentence for the pair who were paid for merchandise that was never received. Among the victims who lost a total of more than $100,000 were a retired grandmother who used her limited income to pay for a computer so she could easily communicate with her grandchildren, and a man who said his fiancee broke off their engagement when she did not get the diamond ring he had promised.
"By using their handicap as a shield to avoid punishment, the defendants demean the efforts of all handicapped individuals to be treated as equals," Baker wrote in court papers. "Their deafness did not stop the defendants from committing fraud."
Calling it "one of the more difficult sentencings I have had," U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler sentenced the two to 3 months each in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and ordered them to repay the victims.
"I'm very sympathetic to the plight they face in jail," Wexler said, explaining why he was not giving the mother and son the longer sentence their crimes normally call for. But he also said the two had "set up a business of stealing ... and the public must know we will not tolerate this." Wexler said prison officials and probation officers told him the federal prison system has facilities for deaf inmates.
The mother and son were arrested by federal postal inspectors last year for mail fraud and conspiracy after they had operated their swindle for a year out of a room at the Marriott Hotel in Melville, according to court records.
The two installed computers and TDD/TTY telephone services that allow deaf people to communicate over telephone lines. They then advertised what appeared to be bargain merchandise over eBay and Yahoo, collected the money but never sent any merchandise.
Seifried, Posner, their attorneys and Baker all declined to comment after the sentencing.
For you who wish to view a picture of them, click here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...ay23,0,3565450.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines
My comment: I know them and they finally deserve to go to jail this time. That's it and no further comment.
Clutching her son's hand through much of their sentencing proceeding yesterday, convicted swindler Gilda Seifried begged not be sent to jail.
"Please don't separate us," the 65-year-old Seifried said. "I love him very much. He's the only friend I have. ... Please give us another chance."
Her son, Abraham Posner, 30, convicted with her in the same Internet fraud, likewise asked for leniency, saying, "I want to apologize for what I did."
Their voices could not be heard in the courtroom, because mother and son both have been profoundly deaf since birth. Their signing was being interpreted in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
Although the two admitted to defrauding 119 people over the Internet, many of them low-income or retired, they asked that they not have to serve any jail time because their disability would leave them open to mistreatment or abuse in a prison.
Seifried's attorney, federal public defender Randi Chavis, and Posner's attorney, Richard Haley of Hauppauge, suggested that because of their clients' deafness and contrition it would be appropriate to sentence them to home detention or community service.
A federal prosecutor, however, argued the two should not be treated differently because of their handicap and should receive 12 to 18 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Baker was joined by victims who wrote asking for the maximum sentence for the pair who were paid for merchandise that was never received. Among the victims who lost a total of more than $100,000 were a retired grandmother who used her limited income to pay for a computer so she could easily communicate with her grandchildren, and a man who said his fiancee broke off their engagement when she did not get the diamond ring he had promised.
"By using their handicap as a shield to avoid punishment, the defendants demean the efforts of all handicapped individuals to be treated as equals," Baker wrote in court papers. "Their deafness did not stop the defendants from committing fraud."
Calling it "one of the more difficult sentencings I have had," U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler sentenced the two to 3 months each in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and ordered them to repay the victims.
"I'm very sympathetic to the plight they face in jail," Wexler said, explaining why he was not giving the mother and son the longer sentence their crimes normally call for. But he also said the two had "set up a business of stealing ... and the public must know we will not tolerate this." Wexler said prison officials and probation officers told him the federal prison system has facilities for deaf inmates.
The mother and son were arrested by federal postal inspectors last year for mail fraud and conspiracy after they had operated their swindle for a year out of a room at the Marriott Hotel in Melville, according to court records.
The two installed computers and TDD/TTY telephone services that allow deaf people to communicate over telephone lines. They then advertised what appeared to be bargain merchandise over eBay and Yahoo, collected the money but never sent any merchandise.
Seifried, Posner, their attorneys and Baker all declined to comment after the sentencing.
For you who wish to view a picture of them, click here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...ay23,0,3565450.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines
My comment: I know them and they finally deserve to go to jail this time. That's it and no further comment.
Well it doesn't matter if they are deaf or not...what they did was WRONG by scamming ppl, rip them off, stole their money. They KNEW its wrong but they did it anyway. I'm sick tired of hearing deafies use "deafness" as an excuse to look for pity and hoping they'd let them go or whatever. 
thats lot! 
They should be in prison to learn their damn lesson! 
fraud!!
