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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

AUSTIN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA §

 § CRIMINAL NO.

VS. § 1:20 CR 00053 RP

 §

NICOLETTE OSBORNE §

DEFENDANT NICOLETTE OSBORNE’S MEMORANDUM IN AID OF SENTENCING

Comes now, Nicolette (Nicky) Osborne, by and through her attorney of record, Samuel E. 

Bassett, files this Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing for this cause set for sentencing on March 23, 

2021.

Nicky’s Employment Background

Nicky Osborne was first hired at First Air Express (later named Bison Global Logistics) after 

answering an add in the American Statesman in 1999. At the time, First Air Express was in 

bankruptcy proceedings and Nicky was hired to work as their Human Resources Manager. Nicky 

was unaware of the bankruptcy when hired. The owner then and during the tenure of her 

employment was Allen Thomas Love, III, aka “Tommy Love.” As the years passed, Nicky became a 

more valuable employee, eventually rising to the title of Chief Financial Officer despite her limited 

education. She worked hard and was strongly influenced in her decision making by Mr. Love, 

whose lifestyle and benefits from company profits far exceeded Ms. Osborne’s. Mr. Love was a 

dominating and, at times, abusive boss to Nicky. Mr. Love left no paper trails and Ms. Osborne 

carried out many of his wishes, seeking to keep the company afloat through dishonest and criminal 

methods as the situation became more desperate. Nicky very much regrets her actions in defrauding 

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the victims. She also realizes her scheme produced financial gains for her benefit and she wholly 

failed to report income to the IRS as well. She makes no excuses. She does believe Mr. Love was 

aware of and supported her conduct, in whole or in part, and received a large financial benefit. A 

former co-worker of Nicky’s, Denise LeBron, writes:

“. . . Nicky had hired me working for Bison Global Logistics as a

billing specialist in July 2011 . . . Nicky is a very caring, giving and

supportive lady.

“ . . .She would be there for employees through the worst of times, even

though she would be under a lot of pressure and workload . . . She would

help employees out when needed. I know that she helped an employee

who was a single mother of three so she could get things she needed

for her kids. . . 

“. . . I have also witness how she was treated at Bison by Tommy Love,

owner. I have heard yelling many times coming from Nicky’s closed

office and have seen her run down the hall tears streaming from her face.

The yelling was belittling her and threatening her job if she did not 

comply with his requests. I do not know how she could go through 

life day to day in the hostile work environment he had her in if it wasn’t

for Kaleb . . .

“. . . Nicky was devastated by actions that were taken that forced the

business to close doors. . . She was an emotional wreck and so apologetic. . .

“Nicky has been through a lot and learned a lot from this. I really feel

that she has suffered tremendously, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

the guilt that she lives with knowing how it affected others and not just

herself. I know, with all my heart, she would think twice before 

allowing the situation to happen again.”

(See Exhibit A – letter from Denise LeBron)

Relevant Family History & Personal Characteristics – Family

Nicky is a single mother to a twelve (12) year old boy, Kaleb Osborne, who is a special needs 

student. Kaleb has Apraxia of speech, fine motor skills issues, dysgraphia and sensory issues. Kaleb 

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may have other neurological issues yet undiagnosed. For the past year, he has been at home in 

virtual school under the supervision of Nicky and with the help of family friend, Monica Sowders 

Gage (Monica), who moved in with Nicky approximately two (2) years ago. Monica was a 

tremendous help with Kaleb as Nicky works for Fast Fox Plumbing as an office manager. Nicky is 

currently able to work from home and take care of Kaleb, with Monica’s help. However, recently 

Monica was diagnosed with severe medical issues which ultimately created a heart valve problem 

which will require valve replacement in the near future. As a result, Monica is unable to assist as 

much as before with Kaleb in recent months (see below). Nicky is Kaleb’s main support, provider 

and teacher. As Mr. Kameron Davis writes:

“I am an educator in the Pflugerville Independent School District . . .

I initially met Nicky through the Murchison Elementary Parent Teacher

Organization . . .

“. . .Nicky’s son Kaleb is her why! Her day and life revolve around him

as she knows his needs and successes are not easy. A year after meeting

Nicky, I did work with her son as he required Special Education support.

Kaleb does have a specific speech impairment called Apraxia which is

extremely challenging to understand and requires specific speech practices,

supports and therapies which Nicky has always made sure he has had . . .

“. . . She attended every meeting, event, academic night, or celebration

for Kaleb by herself in person or virtually. Even before she was a 

single mother, she was an involved parent as I had not met Marlon 

until attending a birthday party for Kaleb. 

“. . . Nicky has won numerous accolades, awards and raises for volunteering

. . .however, out of all the characteristics mentioned, the most important

to Nicky is that of being the best mother and role model for Kaleb . . .

“. . .Nicky is very remorseful for the actions that caused her to be in this 

position. When the company closed their doors, she was devastated. She

took it very hard and felt responsible . . . I know that she wished she could

change the past. She wishes she would have made much different choices.

The thought of not being here for any length of time to support Kaleb, her

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family and friends is a thought that is devastating to not only me but to her

community. This letter is not only coming from myself; it’s also coming

from the hundreds of teachers, administrative staff and support staff from

both Murchison Elementary School, Kelly Lane Middle School and the PFISD

community. We cannot express enough how much of an impact she has had

on all of us.”

(See Exhibit B Attached – Letter from Kameron Carroll Davis)

Nicky married her high school sweetheart, Marlon Osborne in 2000, after over a decade

together. Mr. Osborne divorced Nicky in 2018, telling her that the financial hardship and stress

from the civil and criminal cases arising out of her actions was too much. Nicky’s best friend,

husband and father to Nicky’s only child walked away but Nicky stayed strong for Kaleb.

Though Marlon provides financial support through his work for Kaleb, he doesn’t prioritize time

or parenting with Kaleb. In his letter to the Court, Marlon writes:

“. . .Although the charges she faces are serious, I know she is extremely

remorseful for the crimes she committed, and I respectfully ask the 

court to show her some leniency.

“. . . She wore many hats at that job, and I believe it became a personal

mission of hers to keep their doors open. . . she did not want to fail her

family [work family].

“. . . These are not actions or behavior of a malicious criminal. She had

a lapse in good judgment working for a failing company. I believe it was

a toxic work environment and the owner himself is the person who 

compelled her to do things to help keep his company afloat. Yes, she 

should have had the good senses to get far away from him and the company,

but I think she felt obligated to help those co-workers . . .

“. . . Despite the charges brought against her, Nicolette Osborne is a

loving mother, a caring friend and community contributor and hard

worker who still has a lot to offer society. Our son, Kaleb, has special needs

and relies on her every day. Taking her away from him would be

unimaginable to him. Kaleb is her life and he needs her. I am pleading

with the court to keep this in mind.”

(See Exhibit C Attached – Photo of Kaleb Osborne with Nicky &

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Exhibit D - Letter from Marlon Osborne)

Relevant Family History & Personal Characteristics – Monica Sowders Gage

Another clear example of Nicky’s giving nature is the story of her relationship with Monica 

Sowders Gage (Monica). Monica and her husband have been living with Nicky for a little over two 

years. Monica’s husband is a truck driver and they had planned to build a house in Hamilton, Texas. 

Those plans to build a home have not worked out on the land purchase. Monica has been helpful 

with Nicky and Kaleb, especially during this era of virtual schooling. However, nine (9) months ago 

this changed drastically. In May of 2020, Monica went into multiple organ failure due to either 

infection or Covid, the doctors do not know for sure. After being transferred to Houston due to a 

lack of hospital beds available in Austin at the time as well as due to being uninsured, she finally was 

put on medications to heal the liver and kidney issues. However, it appears she suffered irreversible 

heart valve and other heart damage. In Exhibit D, the Court can read a letter from several members 

of Monica’s family, which states in part:

“. . . Instead of writing fifteen or more letters, we have decided to 

contribute one character letter on behalf of our family. . . 

“. . . There are no words we can adequately use to explain what she

and Kaleb mean to us. She has always been there for us; however, 

recently she has become our Hero! Without a doubt we know that

Monica would not be here today if it was not for Nicky. She saved her

life! . . . In May of 2020, Monica came down with Bronchitis or so that

is what was diagnosed. In the latter part of June, 2020, she started

becoming more ill. On a Friday when she could barely get out of

bed, she called her doctor . . . Nicky was adamant that she was not

waiting until Tuesday to go to the doctor. She drove her up to the

clinic Monday morning where they said they could do blood work

and go from there. Nicky said no that was not acceptable, so they

left and drove to the Emergency Room. Once they arrived, a 

wheelchair was needed to get her inside. Due to Covid, no one 

could go back with her so Nicky had to speak to the nurse to go 

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through all her symptoms . . . Nicky has been the main point of

contact for all her doctor visits, hospital visits, tests and other 

medical needs as we have appointed her to do so. . . 

“. . . Nicky received the call on Tuesday, July 14 that she was in

Liver, Kidney and Heart failure . . . they couldn’t do anything for

her because she didn’t have insurance. . .We immediately drove

to Pflugerville to all regroup to find Nicky talking to hospital admin,

doctors, making calls to anyone and everyone to see if they could help. 

They said our only hope was to get her to Houston where they had specialists. . . 

“. . . Somehow after all of Nicky’s calls . . . within an hour she was

being put in an ambulance being transferred to St. Luke’s in Houston.

How? We don’t know. All we know is she would not have 

survived 24 hours if she wasn’t transferred. . . Nicky. . . had

Monica enrolled in Marketplace . . . The hospital could not believe

she had gotten it done in a short time. . . so now that she would

have insurance, the hospital started setting up testing, procedures,

medicines, and other things. Finally, after 30 days in the hospital,

she was no longer needing to get transplants, but she was still in heart

failure and had to go home. 

“. . . Nicky had to prep her house to make sure it was set up for

disabilities because Monica could not pull herself up or walk without

assistance. . . Fast forward 9 months later, Monica is still in heart

failure however through many appointments, testing and various

medications is not in liver or kidney failure. . . 

“Nicky took over having to take care of all the household duties that

Monica ad helped with... She cannot take the risk of sending Kaleb

to school and bringing home anything to complicate Monica’s heart 

failure. . . 

“. . .She is a single mom that provides 100% of the care for Kaleb. 

Nicky’s parents are having medical issues and long term may need

to move in with her soon...Speaking from the entire family, we

honestly do not know how she does it. . . 

“. . .She does all of this not knowing what her future holds. She is

extremely remorseful for her actions and has made clear that if she had

the opportunity to make things right she would. . . As a family we have

been through a lot and we are so fortunate that Nicky was there for us.

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We are asking the court to please show her leniency . . We all count

on her, Kaleb needs her, her family needs her, we need her! “

(See Exhibit E – Letter from Family Members of Monica)

Relevant Personal Characteristics – Support of Schools

Nicky has dedicated much of her time and resources to supporting public schools where 

Kaleb has been a student. Her participation has been extraordinary and appreciated. Reese Bradley 

Weirich, Principal of Carpenter Elementary School in Pflugerville and former Principal at Murchison 

Elementary for nine years, writes:

“. . . I first met Nicky as the Mom of Kaleb when he and my 

daughter were in the same kindergarten class. . . she would walk

Kaleb to class every morning . . . her efforts and generosity grew to

include our entire staff and community.

“. . .She began donating items to the classrooms and school she knew

we could use to support all teachers . . . Nicky then began becoming

very involved with our PTO and the Pflugerville Education Foundation.

Nicky even took on the one thing no other volunteer wanted to attempt,

the fall carnival, Mustang Round Up. The first year she took over this

event, she was able to fundraise more for the school than the previous

three years. . . 

“. . . She always knew exactly what we needed – from coffee makers

and coffee, to dry erase markers and erasers, from a refrigerator for 

our upstairs staff, to food trucks . . . When we would have a food drive

at Thanksgiving, Instacart would show up with vans full of food to

donate. . .

“. . . when I said that I didn’t know what to say or how to thank her, 

she said that Kaleb was the most important thing in her life . . he was

thriving at Murchison. . . As we worked together in school, Nicky and

I also became friends. . . It is evident in all that she does, that Kaleb

is her motivation in life. . . Kaleb relies heavily on Nicky to support

him, especially in the virtual school environment. . .

“As strong, hardworking and prideful as Nicky is, she understands the

impact of her actions and is greatly embarrassed by the fact that she

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allowed herself to be a part of this situation. She is not quite the 

confident and outgoing woman she has been as the stress, remorse

and shame of this situation has taken a toll on her as she tries to

continue to quietly share the good in the world.”

(See Exhibit F – letter from Reese Weirich)

Remorse

Nicky has revealed her crime to those who are closest to her with great shame and 

embarrassment. Though it has not been easy in light of the legal ramifications and potential 

incarceration, she continued to do all she can for her son, her family and her friends as is evidenced 

by the attached letters. Nicky is not one to sit still and she is wholly devoted to her son. It is clear 

she regrets, most of all, the impact this crime could have on her son, Kaleb, if she is sentenced to 

prison. Amanda Beard, who has known Nicky for 28 years, writes:

“. . . I married Nic’s brother and we share a child. Though my

marriage ended in divorce, Nic’s family has always considered me

part of their family. I have 4 children. Only one child shares DNA

with Nic but you wouldn’t know that when you see her interact with 

my other 3 children. . . She expresses equal love to all my children. . .

“. . . She has been a sister, a friend, a mentor and a confidant. Nic has

always been there to support me through life’s challenges. Whether 

it be my divorce, parenting successfully in a divorce situation, my

breast cancer journey, my faith, marriage, birth, miscarriages and all

the little things in between. . . 

“. . . while Kaleb has been challenged with special needs, Nic

has never let this hinder his ability to be successful. Nic rallies

for his needs, she teaches him accountability and ensures he has

the same opportunity as other children in this world. . .

“. . . Nic learned from the best. Her parents are very loving and 

have been there for her in life every step of the way. As their

health deteriorates, they now depend on Nic to guide them . . .

“When I’ve spoken to Nic about this situation, it is absolutely

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heart breaking seeing how it has affected her emotional well being.

I’ve experienced a lot with Nic and never have I seen her so 

broken down over the actions that have taken place in this 

situation. Through it all, as she has taught all the children in

her life, she takes accountability for her part in this getting to

such extreme measures. The humiliation, embarrassment and

the pain brought to others have been so overwhelming for her.

She is a true example of someone who accepts accountability for

her actions and learns from her past mistakes. I pray that you

can extend grace and leniency.”

(Exhibit G – Letter from Amanda Beard)

In addition to Ms. Beard’s letter, the remaining letters in Exhibit H provide further evidence 

of Nicky’s remorse and acceptance of responsibility in this case. 

Conclusion

This case has been extended for a long time for many reasons. Ms. Osborne hired the 

undersigned counsel at the beginning of the civil litigation brought by the factoring companies in this 

matter several years ago. For many months, she was subjected to depositions in those matters. 

From the beginning, she never wavered in her acceptance of responsibility. Though she was and is 

troubled by the lack of responsibility assigned to Mr. Love in this matter, she knows that she 

orchestrated and carried out a sophisticated scheme to defraud millions of dollars for the benefit of 

Bison Global Logistics, Mr. Love and herself. As this memorandum demonstrates, one could argue 

a large portion of the illegitimate proceeds received were used to benefit her son’s school and other 

staff/students. The majority of the proceeds, it seems, benefitted a failing company and perhaps the 

principals of said company. Nonetheless, Nicky stands before you a convicted felon to be sentenced. 

 The undersigned counsel requests that the Court consider the nature and circumstances of this 

offense as well as the history and characteristics of Nicky Osborne under 18 U.S. 3553(a) in 

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assessing the minimum term of imprisonment possible in this matter so that she may continue to care 

for her son and the many others who depend upon her efforts to this day.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Samuel E. Bassett

Samuel E. Bassett

Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey, P.C.

1100 Guadalupe

Austin, Texas 78701

(512) 476-4873 Telephone

(512) 479-8315 Facsimile

State Bar No. 01894100

Attorney for Nicolette Osborne

Certificate of Service

By affixing my signature above, I, Samuel E. Bassett, hereby certify that a true and 

correct copy of Defendant’s Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing has been sent to Ms. Michelle 

Fernald, Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of 

Texas, Austin Division, on the 18th day of March, 2021.

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