CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Dirty cop Yomont King will avoid prison time as part of a plea bargain arrangement with federal authorities.
King, a Virgin Islands Police Department officer, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said today.
King, 28, of St. Croix, was charged in September with four counts of bank fraud, grand larceny, aggravated identity theft and two counts of forgery, according to a grand jury indictment. He is free on pretrial release after having posted a $25,000 appearance bond secured by $2,500 in cash.
King signed the plea deal with prosecutors on November 1, and formally pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of bank fraud.
Each charge carries a possible prison term of up to 30 years, supervised release of no more than three years and a maximum fine of $1 million.
Under applicable statutory guidelines, however, King’s sentencing range is between zero to six months with a fine of $500 to $9,500, given his lack of criminal history and other factors.
According to court documents filed in the case, in 2018 King deposited stolen and forged checks into his personal bank account on multiple occasions, totaling $2,800.
King will be sentenced at a later date, according to Shappert.
The VIPD officer was originally charged with bank fraud, identity theft and forgery, according to court documents.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Virgin Islands Police Department Economic Crimes Unit.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Brooks.