Idaho Inmate Charged for Scheming Behind Bars

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 53-year-old Idaho inmate was doing more behind bars than paying his debt to society. U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said Wednesday Mark Anthony Brown was arraigned on 12 counts of mail fraud for allegedly running a class-action scheme from his cell.

According to his federal indictment, Brown between 2007 and this February purported to be a claimant of various class-action lawsuits, bankruptcy settlements and other lawsuits. Any proceeds he received went into his Department of Correction trust account, among others.

The government now wants him to forfeit $64,000 in currency or substitute assets. Each mail fraud count could carry a 20 year prison sentence. Brown is at the Idaho Correctional Center in Orofino on grand theft and burglar convictions and won't be eligible for parole until 2019.