Former CIETC head appeals 7-year prison sentence
Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The architect of a scam that involved as much as $2.5 million in misspent money meant for a government-funded job training agency is appealing a seven-year federal prison sentence handed down earlier this month.
Ramona Cunningham, former chief executive officer of the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium, apparently disagrees with the judgment made by Chief District Judge Robert Pratt during a hearing on Dec. 15. He told Cunningham that the sentence, which includes prison time followed by three years supervised release, was meant to "send a signal" to private and public CEOs who abuse the public trust.
Cunningham's daughter, Kelly Ayers, signed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals just a couple of days after the sentencing hearing.
Telephone messages left at a number listed for Ayers, and for Cunningham's attorney, Bill Kutmus, on Monday seeking comment weren't immediately returned. The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the appeal.
Cunningham and her co-defendants were accused of conspiring to misspend millions on huge executive bonuses and salaries from January 2003 to April 2006. Cunningham was pegged as the ringleader of the operation.
Earlier this year she admitted diverting federal funds to her own pocketbook and to a handful of her colleagues. She pleaded guilty to eight of the 30 federal charges she initially faced. Officials said the eight counts represent each of the federal funds that were defrauded or otherwise misapplied.
During her sentencing hearing two weeks ago, prosecutors and Cunningham's attorney sparred for hours over the type and length of sentence. Kutmus wanted to see Cunningham receive home detention or time at a halfway house, while prosecutors requested that she get 10 or more years in prison.
Prosecutors also are asking for about $2.4 million in restitution, but confusion about whether that figure included justified salary earned by Cunningham and others means more proceedings must be held within 90 days to decide restitution.
Kutmus argued that his client didn't abuse the public trust or obstruct justice and blamed another CIETC official, former Chief Operating Officer John Bargman, for serving as the ringleader of the scam.
At Cunningham's co-defendants' trial in April, jurors convicted Karen Tesdell, a former CIETC treasurer, of all 29 counts against her. She was sentenced this month to two years in prison followed by three years of home confinement.
Former Iowa Workforce Development supervisor Jane Barto was found guilty of one count of obstruction but acquitted of a conspiracy charge. She was sentenced this month to three years probation.
Dan Albritton, a former board member and Cunningham's boyfriend, was acquitted of a count of conspiracy.
Bargman and former CIETC Chairman Archie Brooks have pleaded guilty to various charges and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities, including testifying against others in the case. Their sentencing dates have not been set.
On the Net:
U.S. Attorney Southern District of Iowa: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ias/US--Attorney/usa.html
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa: http://www.iasd.uscourts.gov/
Ramona Cunningham, former chief executive officer of the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium, apparently disagrees with the judgment made by Chief District Judge Robert Pratt during a hearing on Dec. 15. He told Cunningham that the sentence, which includes prison time followed by three years supervised release, was meant to "send a signal" to private and public CEOs who abuse the public trust.
Cunningham's daughter, Kelly Ayers, signed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals just a couple of days after the sentencing hearing.
Telephone messages left at a number listed for Ayers, and for Cunningham's attorney, Bill Kutmus, on Monday seeking comment weren't immediately returned. The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the appeal.
Cunningham and her co-defendants were accused of conspiring to misspend millions on huge executive bonuses and salaries from January 2003 to April 2006. Cunningham was pegged as the ringleader of the operation.
Earlier this year she admitted diverting federal funds to her own pocketbook and to a handful of her colleagues. She pleaded guilty to eight of the 30 federal charges she initially faced. Officials said the eight counts represent each of the federal funds that were defrauded or otherwise misapplied.
During her sentencing hearing two weeks ago, prosecutors and Cunningham's attorney sparred for hours over the type and length of sentence. Kutmus wanted to see Cunningham receive home detention or time at a halfway house, while prosecutors requested that she get 10 or more years in prison.
Prosecutors also are asking for about $2.4 million in restitution, but confusion about whether that figure included justified salary earned by Cunningham and others means more proceedings must be held within 90 days to decide restitution.
Kutmus argued that his client didn't abuse the public trust or obstruct justice and blamed another CIETC official, former Chief Operating Officer John Bargman, for serving as the ringleader of the scam.
At Cunningham's co-defendants' trial in April, jurors convicted Karen Tesdell, a former CIETC treasurer, of all 29 counts against her. She was sentenced this month to two years in prison followed by three years of home confinement.
Former Iowa Workforce Development supervisor Jane Barto was found guilty of one count of obstruction but acquitted of a conspiracy charge. She was sentenced this month to three years probation.
Dan Albritton, a former board member and Cunningham's boyfriend, was acquitted of a count of conspiracy.
Bargman and former CIETC Chairman Archie Brooks have pleaded guilty to various charges and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities, including testifying against others in the case. Their sentencing dates have not been set.
On the Net:
U.S. Attorney Southern District of Iowa: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ias/US--Attorney/usa.html
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa: http://www.iasd.uscourts.gov/
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