In the following press release U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton  announced that 43-year-old Kathryn Beekman Lowry of Midland, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to six months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for forging the signature of a federal judge and an officer of the Court. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Robert Junell ordered that Lowry pay a $20,000 fine, spend the first six months of her supervised release under home confinement and perform 300 hours of community service.

On February 20, 2007, Lowry pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery. Lowry admitted that in March 2006, she and her husband were in bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. Despite being in bankruptcy, Lowry attempted to secure a loan for the purchase of a house in Midland. Lowry admitted that she created and submitted fraudulent bankruptcy discharge documents to loan providers to discredit credit reports. Three of the documents contained the forged signature of United States Bankruptcy Judge Ronald B. King; the fourth, the forged signature of Tony Ferrer, an employee of U.S. Chapter 13 Trustee Daniel R. O’Connell.

“It is mind-boggling how anyone could even conceive of forging a federal judge’s signature, let alone think they could get away with it. This case strikes at the integrity of the federal court system, and Mrs. Lowry deserves the stern punishment she received today,” stated United States Attorney Johnny Sutton.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John Klassen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.