Man pleads guilty to tax and fraud charges

A Sandy man has pleaded guilty to charges of mortgage fraud, money laundering, mail fraud and failure to file tax returns.

James M. Gibbons III, 48, entered his plea in U.S. District Court Oct. 25 as part of a plea agreement struck with federal prosecutors. In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutors will recommend he serve 24 months in prison.

Gibbons was charged in an indictment returned last December in connection with the Alaa "Alex" Ramadan case, a relative of a man under investigation for alleged ties to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Ramadan pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges of bank, wire, credit card, mortgage and loan fraud as well as money laundering and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. Ramadan is the nephew of Sharif Omar, 37, who is also charged in the fraud case. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating whether Omar funneled money to banks in Jordan and if it ended up in the hands of terrorist groups. So far the FBI has said there has been no evidence found of this but they continue to investigate.

Ramadan and Gibbons are expected to be sentenced on Jan. 4.