NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans man admitted to teaming with a prostitute to drug and incapacitate men across the country and rob them, including one Metairie man who died after the duo robbed him in February 2017.
Randy Schenck pleaded guilty to wire fraud and another federal charge related to the scheme, which he pursued in at least seven states with prostitute Dominique Berry, according to court records.
The court records also indicated that Schenck admitted to sending Berry to the home of a Metairie man identified as S.A. to incapacitate him with drugs and alcohol, take his debit card while he was unconscious and charge purchases at a Wal-Mart on the card.
S.A. is known to be 40-year-old Shawn Arthur, who was found dead in his apartment the next day, Feb. 25, 2017. Arthur’s father, Bob Arthur, believes the evidence is clear that the drugs and alcohol Berry fed him caused his death.
Bob Arthur hired a private investigator who helped him expose Schenck and Berry’s scheme involving 11 men in seven states. The investigator recorded a conversation with Berry in a Georgia jail, in which she admitted to luring more than 50 men with sex and taking their valuables to Schenck, including Shawn Arthur.
In the recording, Berry said she was not aware Shawn Arthur had died, and Schenck’s plea agreement doesn’t mention his death, either. Nobody has been charged in Jefferson Parish in relation to Arthur’s death.
But at Schenck’s plea hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe reversed a previous decision to exclude Shawn Arthur’s death from the facts in the case, according to minutes of the hearing. Bob Arthur attended the hearing via Zoom and said Ashe noted from the bench that his son’s death could now be considered as a factor in Schenck’s sentencing.
Schenck faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 18.
Bob Arthur has blasted the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office for its refusal to pursue any homicide charges related to his son’s death.
"We appreciate the federal team for seeking the rule of law. They have gone above and beyond," he said. "Unfortunately, to date the Jefferson Parish district attorney, JPSO and the Jefferson Parish coroner have ignored the true facts of the case and have indicated that no charges will be forthcoming.... Jefferson Parish needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing."
Berry pleaded guilty in December 2019 to conspiracy and identity theft charges but has not yet been sentenced.
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