A former Kansas congressional candidate was sentenced Monday by a U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to 15 months in prison for his role in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme, media reports said.
“I know what I did was wrong,” the former Kansas congressional candidate said Monday at sentencing, according to the Kansas City Star.
Shortly thereafter, U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum sentenced Taff to 15 months in prison, saying that he had “debased the public’s trust,” the Star reported.
Lungstrum also sentenced co-defendant John D. Myers to five months in prison and a $50,000 fine for his role in the mortgage fraud.
Taff, 40, and Myers, 51, pleaded guilty in November to one count each of wire fraud that occurred when Myers sold Taff his house in Lake Quivira for $1.2 million. Taff also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act by misusing election money to obtain a mortgage loan for the home.
Lungstrum said that when the charges were first filed, he assumed that Taff had made a spur-of-the-moment error, media reports said. But, Lungstrum reportedly said, Taff had planned to be dishonest from the beginning, going so far as to disregard his campaign manager’s warnings about personal use of campaign money. Taff’s campaign manager resigned after discovering what he had done, reports said.
In a brief interview following the hearing, Taff’s lawyer, Jim Eisenbrandt, told the Star the sentence “was not totally unexpected.”
“The judge evaluated the case as best he could,” Eisenbrandt said, according to the Star. “Adam is going through a lot in his mind right now, and I’m sure at some appropriate time he’ll be glad to talk with you.”
He described his client as “remorseful. That’s what he said in the courtroom, and the judge understood that completely,” media reports said.
Eisenbrandt said he had no idea when Taff would begin his sentence, reports said. Lungstrum said Taff was a good candidate for self-surrender, and Taff remained free on bond, according to reports.
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