Doug is Sentenced -- Observer Report 2

Here's what another wrote me:

In attendance at Doug's sentencing this morning, Friday, July 10th, in the D.C. Superior Court, before the Honorable John Mott, were:

• Doug's mother, Mrs. Kohler, a very pleasant, elderly woman;
• A woman named Pam (perhaps Doug's sister-in-law? [Yes, wife of the brother defrauded on the phone; see below.]); she was close with Mrs. Kohler; and
• Matthew R., a former "good," "close" friend of Doug, who lent Doug money obtained from "lines of credit against [his] home." I don't Mr. R's charges were among the charges on which Doug was being sentenced today.

Each of the individuals was cooperating with the prosecution. And at one point, in the vestibule just outside the courtroom, Doug stepped out of a conference room and hissed to his mother and Pam, "After today, if I never see either one of you again, it'll be too soon."

I heard a lot of information about Doug:

• People reported that he has been texting and emailing threatening messages to a variety of people, including his sister.
• In the past, Doug reportedly said that he and his ex-wife had "lost a child." In response, relatives remarked, "that never happened!"
• People agreed that Doug has "always lived extravagantly" and "high on the horse," and that "he traveled a lot," reportedly to Amsterdam and parts of Canada and England.
• They agreed that he had received hair transplants and undergone plastic surgery.
• Doug has frequently explained to others that his extravagant lifestyle (travel, accommodations, elective medical procedures), were provided for free in exchange for advertising he provided.
• On several instances, Doug has apparently told victims that he was overwhelmed because his ex-wife, Ms. Lynn Huggins-Kohler, had been in a serious car wreck and that, as a result, Doug would have to care for their children. However, Ms. Huggins-Kohler told the U.S. Attorney, "That's not true." Indeed, Ms. Huggins-Kohler had been in a wreck that severely damaged her car; but she "walked away from it" and she told the U.S. Attorney that there has never been any time at which she needed Doug to assume care of their children. (It is worth noting, for clarity's sake, that Ms. Huggins-Kohler was once seriously injured when she fell from the back of a Jeep or a truck in Kiawah Island, SC. However, that was many years ago, early in her and Doug's relationship, perhaps before they were married.)
• Despite his using her as an excuse, Ms. Huggins-Kohler is still very supportive of Doug. She initially insisted that she would not house Doug after his bond hearing in Fairfax County (for his most recent arrest), however, she eventually hosted him. She also wrote a letter to the D.C. Superior Court in support of Doug.
• The report for Doug's arrest in Fairfax County indicates that he obtained a cell phone and service using his brother's personal identification.
• Doug's father told the U.S. Attorney that after Doug stayed with him, his savings bonds worth $4,000 went missing.
• Doug has a prior conviction in Maryland for fraud and/or identity theft for which he owes approximately $7,000 in restitution. It seems this had something to do with a woman named Mary DeRosa (sp?).

The U.S. Attorney, Ms. Stephanie Miller, argued to the court for several minutes, fairly passionately. "The money in this case is not huge, but the number of people impacted is." "This is not the crime of the century, but the Mr. Kohler did affect a lot of people." "The Defendant is very likely to repeat [offend]." She primarily argued that Doug clearly had not taken responsibility for his actions and did not appear to feel remorse. Apparently, in his submissions to the court, Doug claimed that he was too sick to return money to his victims.

Doug's defense attorney, Ms. Elizabeth Sapperstein, took issue with the fact that the court was receiving several letters or impact statements, late in the case, without affording her opportunity to offer a written response. She also took issue with the fact that the U.S. Attorney discussed several allegations that were not among the present charges.

About your blog, Ms. Sapperstein commented, "His blog is full of slanderous accusations; it's a hateful blog." She asserted on Doug's behalf that "he's not a drug user; he's never been a drug user." She claimed that Doug "wants to make retribution to all these [victims]." She asked the court for a suspended sentence, reasoning that "now that [Doug]'s working and his health is such that he can work, the court should" give him a chance, albeit "on a short leash." She explained that "he's hoping to get a job at Mariott, at a fairly high level." (Huh?! What?! --Remind me not to stay at any Mariott properties.)

Doug then addressed the court, saying that "I did plead guilty. ... It doesn't matter how sick I was. ... My life has changed a lot in the last two years ... from having a wife and kids, owning a company. ... [It was] very much due to health matters. ... I can't say that my decisions were the best ... [but] you get to a point with pain where you just don't care."

The Court indicated it's irritation with Doug "sandwiching" his statement between references to his health problems. "This was an organized plan to defraud [people]. ... You went to some effort to take money from people. ... You're lucky to [be charged with only] a misdemeanor." Explaining to Doug that his crimes will forever cast doubt on him, the court told Doug that "nothing you say to me is necessarily true." "I don't know if you had a drug problem; it doesn't matter. ... You can't expect [to deceive people], plead to it, pay back their money, and then move on with your life. ... Sure, one of the victims has a blog. I don't know what it says; but the reason I understand he wrote the blog was to warn people about you. Which is a good thing to do. ... Because of the fraud, the deceit, the lies, you need to spend some time in prison."

The court then sentenced Doug to 180 days in prison (the maximum possible) suspended, except for 100 days, followed by 18 months' probation. This means that Doug must serve 100 days, after which he will remain on probation with the threat of an additional 80 days hanging over his head. The court also ordered that he pay $6,100 of restitution within 24 months. The court ordered a full psychological evaluation and periodic drug testing. The court also ordered Doug to get a job upon release.

Finally, Doug asked to delay the start of his sentence over the weekend. The court declined that request ("I'm not going to allow that."), ordering that it begin immediately, at which point, a deputy escorted Doug from the courtroom.

Doug is Sentenced -- Observer Report 1

Here's what one person wrote me:

Small victory. 180 days in jail with 80 days suspended. So he will serve 100 days in DC Jail. Judge wanted to give him more time, but he couldn't. The judge said he cant trust a word that Doug says. He will be in jail for a psychiatric evaluation and Drug rehab. Doug told his lawyer that he got a job with Marriott. So his lawyer was trying to get the jail time suspended. Doug's sisters last name is Marriott. Sounds funny.

Pam and Mrs Kohler went to court. They said that Doug was in a holding room with his atty and the door was cracked. Pam wore one of Doug's leather coats. He saw Pam and Mrs Kohler and stormed out of the room and said, "If I never see you to again it will be too soon" and stormed back into the room and slammed the door. He said that this blog was slander and he no longer has access to it. Doug has 6 leather coats so, it anyone maybe missing a coat, Pam might have it at her house.

So now DC is working on Kevin Randall's case. Stephanie told Pam yesterday that it could take a year to get all this stuff processed for all that is in the black bag. His dad was missing some bonds and Doug had them in the black bag. They also found some bonds in his ex-wives name.

So post away on your blog! Doug cant access it. LOL.

Doug is Sentenced

From US Assistant Prosecutor:

I want to let you know that Doug Kohler was sentenced this morning. He was sentenced to 180 days. The Judge suspended execution of the sentence except for 100 days which means that he will serve 100 days in jail. Once released from jail, he is on probation for 18 months. If he violates his probation then the Judge may impose the remainder of the sentence which would be 80 days. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $6,100 during his term of probation. He was ordered to pay $50 to the victims of violent crime fund which is mandated by statute. He requested to be released until Monday to turn himself in and the Judge denied that request.

It will be a while before anyone receives their money since he first needs to complete his jail sentence.

Some Notes from Doug's ex-Roomie

I got these on email. You will be interested in the details of how Doug operated.

First email

I don't really know how to introduce myself, so I'll just start. I also was scammed by Doug when I subletted a room in his apartment about a year ago, approximately from June 1 to September 30, 2009. Eventually, I discovered that for two months he had taken my money but not paid the landlord, and he lied to me when I asked him about it. A couple of days later, he received a notice from the Superior Court, which was the first step that the landlord took in the process of evicting him. I already had some ideas that he was a shady character, and based on this final straw, I moved out quickly and without informing him or leaving a forwarding address.

After I moved out, I periodically checked the court's website to follow the eviction proceeding and the eventual criminal fraud charge, and I was delighted when the upstairs neighbor, Michael, eventually informed me that Doug had moved out. I was friends with Michael before moving in with Doug (in fact, he introduced us), and I remained friends with him after moving out, frequently going to hang out at his place and feeling terrified that I might run into Doug as I entered or exited. I recently checked the court's website again, and I also decided to Google "doug kohler fraud washington," which led me to your writings.

Wow, this guy is a such a shmuck. I heard rumors that he had defrauded other people, and seeing what you wrote and and the timing of all the civil cases against him confirms for me that he's scum.

Anyway, would you grant me access to your blog, Doug Kohler the Thief? I'd really like to see what you have to say. Unfortunately, I don't think I have much of a way to prove what I wrote here. I have a scanned copy of the eviction notice I could send you, but I think that's it. I guess also I could describe the apartment or Doug himself, such as how he (claimed) that he used to be a bodybuilder, that he was shot, had cancer, and an ex-wife and two kids living in Fairfax. Oh, and he said his family was the Kohler family behind the plumbing fixtures, but they had blocked him from receiving his millions for reasons that he never made clear. Even though he (claimed) that he was a bodybuilder, all he ever ate was frozen TV dinners. Usually Hungry Man. Oh, and he drank like a fish. White wine, in large bottles with handles. How's that for proof?

Second email

I read every word of the blog, beginning with the oldest entry. It is astonishing. My losses were limited relative to other people's. I think that financially, all I lost was one month's rent. I don't completely remember. But what I do remember is one time when I was sitting at the table eating lunch, and someone rang the doorbell a million times. Doug ignored the person, told me to ignore the person and not to leave the apartment until the doorbell ringer left, and eventually picked up the intercom handset and said "the police have been called." When I asked him about it, he said something about the person being an unhappy former potential roommate.

[DZ: That was me.]

Wow, what a character. I guess I should take a look at my credit reports. It's about time for my free annual report, anyway.

Regarding the October 7, 2008 entry:

1. Doug said that the guy who just moved out smoked indoors. October 7 was right around when I moved out, but I never smoked. Doug, however, smoked like a chimney. He always did it outside, at least when I saw him smoking. He always threw his cigarette butts on the ground at the base of the back wooden staircase, which accumulated quite a mess. To his credit, he usually cleaned it up.
   
   
2. He was just a neat freak, which was probably why the place looked so clean. I appreciated that he liked a clean apartment, but I didn't like that he would often enter my room without asking so that he could clean it. In light of what I later learned about him from my own interactions with him and from reading your blog, I am genuinely worried about identity theft.

Come to think of it, there was one time when I thought I had accidentally thrown away several important documents that I had used to get a new driver's license, including my social security card, passport, and car title. Accidentally putting them in the trash seemed like the best plausible answer, but now I wonder if Doug took them. Great. Another time, I was having trouble using my computer to open and print a PDF document related to my car insurance, so he offered to do it on his. Who knows what he did with that...?

From what you have written, it sounds like neither you nor anybody who contacted you ever moved into the apartment. Is that right? I lived with Doug for four months, and I observed some pretty shady behavior. First, I can 100% guarantee that he possessed and used drugs. Second, he frequently had "massage clients," who were usually middle-aged men. He would take them into his bedroom, put on new age music, and do whatever he did. He said massages. I wonder is he was hustling, because, to my knowledge, he didn't have a massage table in there. Just a bed. But, he did use fragrant oils that he heated in the microwave, and the music he played was more suitable for a massage than for sex.

I have thought about contacting the detective, but unless there is something wrong with my credit reports, I doubt I'll do it. There really hasn't been much harm done to me, aside from the intangible stress of living with him and needing to move out suddenly and fear, for a few weeks, his temper (which I had gotten a glimpse of during a typical roommate argument).

I see his sentencing is scheduled for this week. I can't wait to hear how that turns out.