Louisiana man receives 20 year sentence for tampering with government documents

Edwin A. Williams, 55, of Louisiana, plead guilty to a charge of tampering with a government document and was sentenced to 20 years with the Texas Department of Corrections June 10. On Nov. 20, 2013, Williams was arrested on a charge of selling a horse with a fraudulent Coggins test to a rancher in Upshur County.
According to the victim, Williams claimed he had grabbed the copy of the test by mistake and stated he would mail the original. Within 3 days the victim became dissatisfied with the horse’s disposition and attempted to contact Williams. Williams would not reply, which prompted the victim to obtain the original Coggins test from a Louisiana animal hospital. The victim found the copy did not match the original in 15 different descriptors, including gender and original owner.
Williams failed to appear in court, but was later arrested by Louisiana state police after the judge issued a no bond bench warrant.
Hand says that Williams has a history of felony theft, forgery, fraud, receiving stolen property and has also been charged with crimes in Indiana, Ohio and Lousiana.
“With this sentence we helped to remove from society a man who has scammed countless number of victims in Texas and across multiple other states,” said Billy Byrd, Upshur County district attorney. “Our office fully supports our cattleman and ranchers and appreciates the hard work of Special Ranger Larry Hand.”
TSCRA would like to thank Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd and ADA Camille Henson, Louisiana Brand Commission Investigator Carnie Burcham, Louisiana State Police-Gaming Division, Caddo, Bossier and Webster Parish Sheriff’s deputies.