October 2002 through January 2007, Ray, used her position as controller at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla., to steal more than $6 million from the owners -- well-known family friends of President George H.W. Bush.She used at least some of that money to build her Dream Cross Ranch near Boonsville in southwest Wise County, as well as to purchase other properties in Texas and Florida.But, in adding up her assets, federal prosecutors found themselves short $4.8 million
If she doesn't have cash on hand, "then she still owns the horses," said attorney William A. Hoskins, who represents the Farish family, which owns the inn and is prominent in horse-racing circles. "If she made no sales, then where are the horses?"In 2000, the Gasparilla Inn hired Ray as controller. From Oct. 4, 2002, through Jan. 19, 2007, Ray submitted accurate payroll figures to the inn for approval. Once approved, she drafted increased payroll forms and submitted the forms to Englewood Bank in Florida with instructions to transfer the amounts from the inn's general account to its payroll account. Ray wired the excess money from Englewood Bank into personal bank accounts in San Antonio and Tampa, Fla., then moved it from those accounts into her account at The Bank of Weatherford. At least some of the money was spent on livestock and on Ray's Dream Cross Ranch, on Farm Road 920 about six miles south of Lake Bridgeport.Ray's 2007 arrest and indictment were big news in the local quarter horse community. In Florida, the Boca Beacon, Boca Grande's local newspaper, called it the "most talked-about" story of 2007.In court documents, defense attorneys argued that Ray's scheme is atypical for money laundering because it does not attempt to "camouflage" drug sales or other criminal activity, nor does it "plow" legitimized funds into separate criminal activity. Also, Ray refunded $224,608 to the inn before the criminal investigation.Federal prosecutors, however, argued that this was an attempt to cover up the laundering scheme and not done out of remorse.In November, Ray pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. Her sentencing began a month ago but was extended through Friday morning by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to allow federal investigators time to hunt for missing assets.A March 3 deposition of Ray in a related civil lawsuit filed in Wise County was intended to help the search, but prosecutors said Ray was uncooperative, and the deposition remains incomplete. Ray said she needed access to her computer files -- seized during her 2007 arrest -- before giving better answers.Briefly, McBryde considered further delaying sentencing to allow the deposition to be completed first.But federal prosecutors said the hunt for the money by the U.S. attorney's office was largely limited to computer-based searches until McBryde sentenced Ray and ordered her to make restitution.The office can broaden its post-sentence investigation, lead prosecutor J. Stevenson Weimer said.Based on the crime and Ray's lack of criminal history, prosecutors seemed to expect a five-year sentence.
Hoskins asked for the statutory maximum.McBryde gave her the stiffest sentence allowed under a plea agreement: 10 years. She has been in custody since last month.
"Frankly, I don't think that's a sufficient upward departure," McBryde said. The aggravating circumstance, he said, was the difficulty Ray created in "locating the fruits of her conduct."He also ordered Ray to make $5,784,892 in restitution to the Gasparilla Inn -- payable immediately.However, McBryde said, the inn's owners might need to spend millions to try to recover the money from the various friends, relatives and associates to whom Ray dispersed the assets.
"You're going to end up having to sue all those people," McBryde said."It's almost unbelievable," Hoskins said.Ray apologized to the court and the Farish family Friday.
"It was never my intention to harm or hurt anyone," she said. Instead, she said she manipulated funds to secure her retirement. "It was always my intention to pay back my victim."She said she could account for most if not all of the money if she had access to her computer files, which would show all her transactions along with dates and check numbers. She was able to produce one year's worth of such information in court.However, she said, most of her documentation was in a filing cabinet that had not been returned to her by an "Israeli-based moving company" in Florida.
The Gasparilla Inn is in Boca Grande, on an island between Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. Travel by golf cart is the norm. It's a tarpon fisherman's paradise. The inn's notable guests dating back to 1913 include Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, Katharine Hepburn and the Bush family.
The resort is owned by the family of William S. Farish Jr., grandson of William Stamps Farish II, former president of Standard Oil. William Stamps Farish III served as ambassador to the United Kingdom under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004. Farish III, a breeder of thoroughbred horses, once hosted Queen Elizabeth at his Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.Members of the Farish family were in court for the original sentencing hearing, but only attorneys were present Friday.
Last month, McBryde seemed to be considering an upward departure from the federal sentencing guidelines -- and possibly rejecting a plea agreement that capped the maximum sentence at 10 years. At the hearing, prosecutors and a Secret Service agent who testified said they could not definitively say where the embezzled money was.
There was discussion that the money could be hidden in an offshore account or in Europe. It was revealed that an associate of Ray's had recently traveled to Europe. McBryde delayed sentencing so that the Secret Service could continue to search for the money, requesting an update on March 14.According to that update, Special Agent Jason Buchanan, acting on an anonymous tip submitted to the FBI, traveled to a property where Ray was believed to be hiding assets.He found a climate-controlled horse trailer on the premises. The property owner said Ray and Jimmy Fowler, a former employee of hers, had asked him to store the trailer for them. Fowler told authorities Ray gave him the trailer as payment for work. Tags on the trailer confirm, however, that it belongs to Ray's Dream Cross Ranch.Buchanan also investigated a 100-acre horse ranch in Wise County that Ray's father was negotiating to purchase. The property owner told Buchanan that while he was selling the property to Ray's father, he had been dealing mostly with Ray herself. Buchanan observed about 50 horses, a tractor, two portable trailers, pipe fencing, and four portable horse shelters at the property.Fowler identified the shelters as having been at Dream Cross Ranch and transported to the other ranch. Fencing was also transported from Dream Cross Ranch. Based on a conversation with Wise County Sheriff David Walker, Buchanan believes the transfers were made just after Ray's indictment. The property owner also confirmed that the horses were Ray's.The U.S. Attorney's Office also identified numerous other assets and properties titled to Ray, including five houses in Florida valued at almost $800,000.In court on Friday, attorneys for the Gasparilla Inn said Fowler now claimed to own all of Ray's horses.
When McBryde asked how many horses, prosecutors simply said, "Dozens."
The supposition by prosecutors is that much of Ray's assets have been placed in the names of others.
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