CEDAR RAPIDS – A woman who made false statements before a federal grand jury pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Paula Cole, age 30, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of making a false declaration before a grand jury.
In a plea agreement, Cole admitted that she testified before a federal grand jury in September 2018 regarding an investigation of her boyfriend for a firearms charge. During her grand jury testimony, Cole testified that she did not know whether her boyfriend was a marijuana user, and that there was nothing that ever indicated to her that he used marijuana. Cole admitted in her plea agreement that her grand jury testimony was false, and that she knew that her boyfriend was a marijuana user because she had previously seen him use marijuana.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Cole remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Cole faces a possible maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force. The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
