N.Y. Man Pleads Guilty For Role In $4 Million Extortion Scheme

Defendant’s Brothers, Father and Mother Already Have Been Sentenced

            WASHINGTON –Corry Blue Evans, 30, of New York, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to one count of bank fraud, stemming from a $4 million fraud, extortion, and money laundering scheme that involved multiple members of the defendant’s family.  The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.

            In April 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Evans and his older brothers Tony John Evans and Robert Evans, parents Archie Kaslov and Candy Evans, and Robert Evans’ common-law ex-wife Gina Rita Russell on various charges.

            As part of the scheme, a New York woman conspired with Russell, Tony John Evans, Robert Evans, Corry Blue Evans, and Kaslov to extort money and gold bars from a Maryland man, which caused the man to embezzle funds from his employer between January 2017 and March 2017. The man converted embezzled funds to cash and gold bars. He delivered the money and gold bars to New York drop-off locations, including a hotel room, believing the funds were going to mobsters to whom the New York woman owed money. At one point during the scheme, Tony John Evans spoke to the man on the phone and threatened him by asking if he needed to remind the man where his kids went to school and where the man lived.

            In reality, all of the funds the man embezzled and delivered to New York went to members of the Evans-Kaslov family. Among other things, in January 2017, Corry Evans helped facilitate the cashing of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cashier’s checks obtained with stolen funds. He admitted that he called a check cashing store employee multiple times for the purpose of convincing him that the New York woman, who was attempting to cash the checks, wanted money for her own purposes even though Corry Evans knew that was false and that he and his family members would ultimately take the cash. Indeed, after the New York woman successfully cashed hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks at the check cashing store, she provided all of the money to the Evans brothers. Archie Kaslov then drove the brothers to the New York diamond district where Kaslov and others used criminal proceeds to purchase luxury watches.

            In late January 2017, the Maryland man traveled to New York to deliver approximately $500,000 in cash. In conjunction with that delivery, members of the Evans/Kaslov family briefly followed the Maryland man’s vehicle and took a photo of it, which was then shared with the Maryland man to terrify him into believing he was being actively surveilled by the mafia. After the Maryland man delivered the $500,000 in cash to a hotel room, some of the money ended up being transported to Corry Evans’ residence.

            Towards the end of March 2017, the Maryland man delivered well over one million dollars in gold bars to a hotel room in New York. Corry Evans, his brothers, and father all discussed the need to sell the gold.  Corry Evans subsequently went to a jewelry store in New York with a sample of the gold, trying to sell it. Later, his brothers, father, and he all sold gold to that jeweler.

            In May 2017, Corry Evans and his father traveled to Texas, where Kaslov used proceeds from the crime to pay $315,000 in cash for a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead.

            The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan accepted Corry Evans’ guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for June 9, 2023. As part of the plea agreement, the parties estimated that federal sentencing guidelines will recommend that Corry Evans be sentenced to between 33 and 41 months in prison. He also faces financial penalties.

            Corry Evans is the last Evans/Kaslov family member to plead guilty. Gina Russell, Tony John Evans, and Robert Evans all pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, who presided over this case before it was transferred to Judge Chutkan, sentenced Tony John Evans, 34, and Robert Evans, 35, to five years in prison. Russell, 34, has not yet been sentenced.

            Archie Kaslov, 56, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Sullivan sentenced him to 30 months in prison. 

            Candy Evans, 53, pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct. Judge Sullivan sentenced her to one year and a day in prison.

            In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Special Agent in Charge Jacobs commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division. They expressed appreciation for assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.  They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas and Arvind Lal, who assisted with forfeiture issues, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oliver McDaniel and Melissa Goforth Koenig, who assisted with restraining funds that Candy Evans attempted to dissipate between the date of her guilty plea and sentencing, Forensic Accountant Bryan Snitselaar, and former Paralegal Specialists Jessica Mundi, Brittany Phillips, Stephanie Frijas, Kristy Penny, and Joshua Fein.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman and former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kent for investigating and prosecuting the case.