An Arizona woman accused of using fake court documents to get her father out of jail was indicted by a Texas grand jury for allegedly engaging in a similar scheme involving a child custody dispute.
Last June, the Arizona Department of Corrections freed David Cramer decades early after his daughter, Haven McQueen, presented fraudulent court documents purportedly ordering Cramer’s release. Law enforcement re-arrested Cramer two months later.
Now, McQueen is facing potential prison time after a Texas grand jury in Chambers County indicted her on one felony count for tampering with a government document, according to court documents.
The grand jury indicted McQueen on Aug. 27, about one month after the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office arrested her for allegedly submitting forged documents to the county, which she attempted to use to obtain custody of children she shares with a Texas resident.
That custody dispute is also playing out in front of a Maricopa County Superior Court.
In a July order, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Lacey Fisher determined McQueen filed a fraudulent document ordering the children to be returned to her custody. The document included “a forged signature from the Presiding Judge, Pamela Gates,” according to the order.
McQueen is facing a second-degree felony in Texas, which can carry a sentence of between two and 20 years.
Her attorneys did not respond to a request to comment on the indictment, though they declined to comment on the specific allegations after the arrest earlier this year.
“We remind the public that under the United States Constitution, every individual is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the right to due process, and a fair trial. We expect law enforcement, the State of Texas, and the judicial system to honor these fundamental rights without prejudice or assumption,” said a statement from The Santos Law Firm.
So far, no one involved in securing Cramer’s release from prison has faced criminal charges for using what the Gov. Katie Hobbs called “forged documents” to trick Arizona prison officials into releasing him 20 years early.
Richie Taylor, a spokesman for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, said its investigation into the situation is ongoing, and that investigators are monitoring the Texas case against McQueen.
Cramer’s family has contended it did nothing wrong in securing his release, citing a fringe “common law” legal theory they believe allowed them to file their own court documents ordering him to be set free.
In May, a Maricopa County judge ordered McQueen, her sister Paris Cramer and others to stop engaging in “the unauthorized practice of law,” resolving a lawsuit brought by the State Bar of Arizona.
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An Arizona woman who used fake court documents to secure her father’s early release from prison last year has been arrested in Texas for forging documents in a child custody dispute. -
Court records show that a group of Arizonans accused of using fraudulent documents to get an inmate out of prison 20 years early attempted to use a similar scheme to free a second inmate. -
Arizona prison officials are making changes after admitting they wrongfully released prisoner David Cramer two decades early as a result of fraudulent court documents filed by his family. But Cramer’s daughters continue to deny they did anything wrong, arguing his release was legal. -
The State Bar of Arizona filed a lawsuit against family members of the Arizona inmate who prison officials wrongly released from custody earlier this year, accusing them of illegally acting as attorneys. -
Records show court officials were aware of David Cramer’s penchant for filing fraudulent documents for years before state prison officials blamed a forged court order for Cramer’s accidental release.
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State officials are remaining tight-lipped about how an Arizona inmate used fake court documents to secure his release from prison 20 years early, but public records and social media posts by David Cramer’s family shed light on how he duped both court officials and the prison system. -
An Arizona inmate is back in custody after filing fraudulent documents with a Maricopa County court that led a state prison to set him free decades before he was supposed to be released.
