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Former police officer faces conspiracy charge

By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published December 9, 2005

TAMPA - A recently fired Tampa police officer and his wife were charged Thursday in federal court with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Brian Charles Seely, 41, and Ragan Suzanne Seely, 38, of Wesley Chapel, are accused of concocting a scheme that allowed them to write bad checks to landlords.

Brian Seely worked as a patrol officer for nearly 17 years until he was dismissed on Nov. 21.

The federal indictment states that Seely used his position as a police officer and a military reservist to gain his landlords' trust.

From August 2000 through January 2005, the Seelys wrote bad checks to several landlords. They mailed the checks to their landlords and then would "concoct false and fraudulent explanations as to why the banks had not honored the checks," according to the indictment.

Eventually they were evicted from rental homes at 6510 Thoroughbred Loop and 6501 Grazing Lane in Odessa, 17744 Espirit Drive in Tampa, 1148 Thackery Way in Wesley Chapel and 1950 W Magnolia Palm Drive at the Shades of Green Military Resort in Lake Buena Vista.

They had written bad checks ranging from $72 to $2,500 to landlords who owned all of those residences, according to the indictment.

The Seelys could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined of $250,000.

Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin said nobody in the department knew that Seely had been writing numerous bad checks until recently, when they started receiving formal complaints.

Seely was suspending during the investigation and then dismissed after the department turned the case over to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Durkin said.

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 01:41:25]