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Man pleads guilty to obstruction in brother’s fraud case

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May 9th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Idaho man has pleaded guilty to trying to influence a victim of his brother’s investment scheme. U.S. District Court records say David Emerson Smith, of Pocatello, Idaho, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Smith’s brother, Darrell Smith, of Forest City, Iowa, was sentenced in October to 14 years and seven months in prison. He’d pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in connection with the investment of clients’ money into an ethanol plant in Hopkinton.

Prosecutors say Darrell Smith had David Smith contact a woman who lost nearly $162,000 in his brother’s scheme and offered her money, tax credits and shares in an energy company if she’d stop complaining to authorities about the amount of her loss.