Wed 11 Nov 2009
Ernest Bernard Moore, Guilty of Fraud
Posted by wslack under Bernard Moore at 1:58 am
Reporting from the Williams Record on this matter (will be updated later today).
UPDATE @ 10:16 AM – Quote from Jim Kolesar:
“The person Williams has known all along as Bernard Moore is suspended from the college until we can understand the situation more fully.”
This is very unwelcome news so close to next Monday’s event, which Professor Moore organized, but I feel more details would be helpful after Brian Shepard ‘11 broke the news on WSO. I will be updating with additional information throughout the day. As the Record has real journalistic standards, please look to it for the most reliable information and the best reporting.
D.C. man admits to $800,000 in fraud – The Washington Post
An assistant professor at Williams College and visiting researcher at Yale University admitted in the District’s federal court this week that he defrauded banks, the federal government and credit card companies out of $800,000 in the past decade. [...]
I have verified that Moore is a visiting scholar at Yale from his Africana Studies Bio. The information in the extended post shows that “Ernest Bernard Moore” also plead guilty to credit card fraud in 1987, and spent much of the 90’s doing appeals of that conviction. I have not definativily established that the person in the legal briefs below and the Williams professor are the same person; however all evidence points in that direction.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Ernest Bernard MOORE, Defendant-Appellant.Decided July 3, 1989.
On January 23, 1987, Moore pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulently using credit cards, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1029(a)(2). The district court sentenced Moore to eight years in custody and five years of probation. The court also ordered Moore to pay restitution in the amount of $62,864.82 as directed by the Probation Department. The final judgment was entered May 12, 1987.
Ernest Bernard MOORE, Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
Fred STOCK, Warden, Respondent-Appellee.Decided July 3, 1991.
Here, the USPC added 24-32 months to Moore’s parole guideline range because it found that Moore had committed fraud by purchasing a car under an assumed name after he escaped from prison. This finding was based on information contained in the presentence report, which included Moore’s statements to a probation officer. The USPC rejected Moore’s claim that the documents he submitted regarding the repossession of the car established that he had purchased it in his own name.
United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee,
v.
Ernest Bernard Moore, Defendant-appellantNov. 19, 1996
Ernest Bernard Moore appeals the district court’s order revoking his probation and sentencing him to an eight-year term of imprisonment for fraudulent credit card use. In this direct appeal, Moore seeks to set aside the guilty plea that led to his probation and suspended sentence. He argues that the district court violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 by failing to inform him correctly regarding the maximum punishment he faced by pleading guilty. [...] …we dismiss this appeal.
ERNEST BERNARD MOORE, Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
JANET RENO, Attorney General.Filed August 5, 1999
Appellant Ernest Moore filed a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus under S 2241 after having filed five unsuccessful
S 2255 motions. In his fifth S 2255 motion, Moore contended
that the district court violated Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 by failing
to inform him of the maximum penalty for his crimes. The
Motion was subject to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act (AEDPA).
There are other appeals throughout the 90s. Legal analysis/commentary would be appreciated.
Other information.
From Moore’s Bio on the “New Faculty” page:
Worked as a senior policy advisor for several years experience in legislative affairs, I am recognized as an authority on Congress as well the federal judiciary and related complex reentry (ex-offenders) issues. As both Fellow/Policy Advisor to Congressman Danny K. Davis and members of the Congressional Black Caucus on related criminal justice and ex-offenders issues. Have been engaged daily in the inner-workings of the legislative process working Rep. James Clyburn, Majority Whip, Rep. Danny K. Davis, and several other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, I spearheaded, wrote, and progressed the Second Chance Act of 2007 through the U.S. Senate and the recent signing into law by the President. I gained 92 bipartisan co-sponsors of H.R. 1593 and 265 votes in the House as a result of my creative ability that refocused discussion on prison reentry issues to concerns for public safety.
I want to drive home the fact that Moore has brought incredible events to Williams – and that there is no evidence that Williams had a clue about these prior fraud convictions. I can find no references to “Ernest B. Moore” since 2000, which might indicate the use of “Bernard Moore” as his alias. The “Second Chance Act” was a significant achievement – a picture of Bush signing Moore’s bill into law is here.
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27 Responses to “Ernest Bernard Moore, Guilty of Fraud”
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JA 2010 says:
wait, what? he’s been appealing since 1987?
November 11th, 2009 at 2:05 amwslack says:
Sorry – he was convicted in ‘87, and has been appealing that sentence. This is a new thing, I will update.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:11 amhwc says:
What in the world is Williams doing hiring a visiting professsor who has been convicted of credit card fraud?
November 11th, 2009 at 2:13 amfrank uible says:
Facially administrative incompetence.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:49 amJeffZ says:
HWC, I can only assume that Williams does not run FBI background checks on its applicants? Stranger, to me, is that he was able to work for a member of Congress (which you would THINK has to employ much more thorough checks). In all events, if he was able to fool so many prominent politicians, I don’t think it reflects all that poorly on Williams that it was likewise hoodwinked. Yale was as well, of course. If Williams KNEW about Moore’s history, that is another story entirely … but I’d be surprised.
This is a shame on so many levels. The events Moore organized were truly fantastic for Williams. I have no idea what sort of prof he was, but there will definitely be a void on campus due to Moore’s imminent departure and almost-certain incarceration. I wonder if next week’s events will now be cancelled?
Looking for a silver lining: who better to bring diversity of experience and promote the virtues of “uncomfortable learning” on campus than a convicted felon / fraudster / escaped convict! (Hey, if Williams can’t laugh at itself …).
November 11th, 2009 at 6:46 amfrank uible says:
Believe me, it reflects very poorly on Williams. Prospective college students do you want to attend an institution which is naive and administratively incompetent or worse?
November 11th, 2009 at 7:24 amwslack says:
We’ll see. Still, a shocker.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:22 amhwc says:
I’m sure I could find it, but what is this upcoming “event” that the convicted felon professor organized?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:37 amwslack says:
@frank uible: Frank, if his alias was good enough to fool Congress, I don’t think Williams is automatically “administratively incompetent.”
November 11th, 2009 at 10:38 amJeffZ says:
HWC, Moore organized the very successful congressional black caucus event last year, the Jim Brown event a few weeks back, and the (maybe no longer?) upcoming event with members of congress, Bill Cosby, etc. He clearly has a ton of connections, all of whom were, I imagine, unaware of his criminal past.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:42 amRonit says:
@hwc: The “event” is a “forum” organized by Moore on “leadership” in the “black” “community” in which several “members” of “Congress”, including “John Conyers”, will be participating, as well as “Bill Cosby”, an “assistant secretary” at the “Department” of “Labor”, and a “senior executive” from “JPMorgan Chase”.
More here: http://www.ephblog.com/2009/11/09/leadership-in-the-black-community/
November 11th, 2009 at 10:44 amBen Fleming says:
This is a very real and very important problem. Of course, it helps those who would advocate for that cause not at all when something like this happens.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:46 amRonit says:
@wslack: Congress is not a good standard of administrative competence.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:46 amfrank uible says:
In other words, fooling a bunch of fools ain’t no trick.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:50 amjeffz says:
Very good point Ben. I don’t want to suggest that NO one ever deserves a second chance, that Williams should not be hiring anyone at all with a checkered past. BUT, those with such a past, no matter the troubles full revelation will lead to, have to start by (a) being honest about it and (b) by reforming their conduct, permanently. It is possible (though sounds unlikely) Moore engaged in (a), but obviously, he at a minimum failed at (b). And it is a shame, because it does no one any good to prevent criminal who actually do manage to rehabilitate themselves from leading productive, fruitful lives thereafter.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:52 amBen Fleming says:
“It was a Tuesday afternoon. I was busy, drinking coffee and working on a case for a dame who had lost her parakeet. A nice broad. I wanted to help her out. And then … he walked into the room. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention like a fresh Army recruit. I felt a sharp twinge in my elbow, like I had dipped it into a bucket of pushpins. I knew this fella was up to no good.
He told me he was a visiting scholar at Yale, and he was interested in political and criminal sentencing reform. I wasn’t listening to a word. I could tell at a glance he had a different game to play. A game that would get me into more hot water than a uncooked plate of Chinese dumplings. Just how would this go down? I hadn’t figured that part out yet. But in time I would. They don’t call me Frank Uible, P.I., for nothing.”
November 11th, 2009 at 11:06 amhwc says:
I wouldn’t assume that. He worked for Jim Clyburn. Wouldn’t surprise me if Clyburn took a cut of the action.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:08 amhwc says:
Thanks for the information on the event. I assume that the event will be cancelled as the proverbial furry little creatures scurry at breakneck speed to disembark the SS. Bernie Moore as it settles slowly beneath the waves.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:14 amhwc says:
Moore’s bio lists an M.A. from Claremont Graduate University and a Ph.D. candidate at Howard University.
I wonder if he even has a college degree?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:22 amrory says:
@hwc: evidence of this accusation re: clyburn (actually, nevermind. I don’t want to bother)?
There is a great conundrum in re-entry. Ex-offenders are told to act right but are so restricted in terms of educational support, job opportunities, geographic mobility, etc. that they often don’t really have much of an opportunity*. Yet another relatively unexamined after-effect of the war on drugs and the shocking growth in the prison population.
To make it even more shocking: a white ex-offender has better success getting job interviews/call-backs for entry level positions than an equally qualified non-offending black applicant (see Devah Pager’s excellent work on this). You can only guess how little success a black ex-offender has in that situation.
*moore, obviously, is not an example of this at all. But most ex-offenders aren’t moore.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:23 amRonit says:
@rory: do the ex-offender stats look significantly different for white collar criminals like Moore vs., let’s say, drug offenders or violent criminals?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:33 amRonit says:
I have done some work with ex-felons in DC. 90% of them were non-violent offenders who were sent to prison for drug or drug-related reasons. They were always advised to be upfront about their record when applying for jobs. It was incredibly difficult for them to reintegrate, even to find very low-level paying work. The War on Drugs ruins lives every day.
I don’t have enough experience with white collar criminals to really have any insight into their situation. I’d imagine it would be a little easier for someone of Moore’s social status and connections to reintegrate.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:37 amhwc says:
This really isn’t a story about prison rehabilition (well, except maybe failed prison rehabilitation). This is the story of a convicted felon con artist, a story that raises some embarrassing questions for Williams College and several members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:44 amrory says:
@Ronit: The studies I’m referring to gave identical non-violent felony drug possession crimes with identical prison sentences, particularly because they were interested in low-wage entry level stuff and a white-collar crime would have been out of place in their test sites.
I also suspect it’s probably easier to integrate from a higher social status as criminal backgrounds are less rigorously searched. The assumption being that someone who got a ph.d from a reputable school likely doesn’t have a criminal past as well. normally, that’s a solid assumption.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:47 amAidan says:
is using your middle name really a brilliant alias?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:25 pmwslack says:
stickied, due to importance. Admin can remove at will, I will remove tonight.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:35 pmWill Slack '11 says:
Further comments are blocked.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:08 pm