Charged with 50 counts of Federal Mail Fraud

Eau Claire (WQOW) - An Eau Claire man accused of abusing the court system, is now charged with 50 counts of federal mail fraud.

Prosecutors say Bernard Seidling would file false small claims lawsuits against people. As part of the scheme, they say he told the judge he could not serve the complaint on the people he was suing, but never told the judge it was because he had given the court fake addresses. When the people being sued failed to show up for court, the judge would rule in Seidling's favor, which meant the defendants would have to pay up. Prosecutors say he did this to fifteen people, using the U.S. Postal Service as part of the scheme. Seidling could face up to twenty years in prison on each of the 50 counts of mail fraud.**************** Eau Claire (Press Release from the U.S. Department of Justice) - Bernard C. Seidling, 60, Eau Claire, Wis., is charged with 50 counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleges that from 2003 through 2009, Seidling engaged in a fraud scheme in which he used the Wisconsin court system to obtain small claims judgments against individuals and corporations based on false representations in lawsuits he filed. The indictment alleges that in the execution of this scheme, he caused mail matter to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service which contained fraudulent small claims case documents.The indictment alleges that Seidling filed suits in Wisconsin small claims courts against individuals and corporations which contained false representations and usually claimed the maximum allowed amount of $5,000. It further alleges that he attempted to hide the filings of these lawsuits from the defendants (the victims of his scheme) named in them, and to obtain default judgments by falsifying the victims' addresses and falsifying in court documents facts regarding attempts to serve the victims.The indictment further alleges that the fraudulently obtained default judgments were filed by Seidling in the county where the victims actually lived or owned property, and he used them to attempt to file wage garnishments against the victims and judgment executions against victims' property.If convicted, Seidling faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count charged. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Sheriffs' Departments of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Dane, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Iron, Jackson, Pierce, Polk, Sawyer and Washburn Counties; and Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of this case will be handled by United States Attorney John W. Vaudreuil.