BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A federal judge says a convicted con man who had been accused of impersonating an FBI agent in the North Dakota oil patch should not be released before he’s sentenced later this month.
Authorities dropped four counts of impersonating an officer against Steven Goldmann in exchange for a guilty plea on an illegal weapons charge, for which he’ll be sentenced on Sept. 25.
A defense attorney says Goldmann suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his Air Force service in Iraq and should be allowed to seek treatment in St. Cloud, Minnesota. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Miller said in an order filed Friday that Goldmann is a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Authorities say Goldmann arrived in the oil patch in the spring of 2014, regularly displaying a gun, holster, mace and badge. One day, he showed up at a Williston coffee shop with a passenger who was handcuffed, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said in their argument against release that Goldmann has yet to answer to an amended warrant in Tennessee, where he pleaded guilty in July 2013 to felony theft of services charges in Nashville. Goldmann allegedly told people he was a successful businessman and conned a real estate company, fashion designer, vintage guitar shop, limousine company, a hotel and a helicopter rental company out of money.