Restaurateur Bruce Swisshelm is headed back to court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled a resentencing hearing is necessary.
The ruling yesterday states Swisshelm — who was
sentenced in January 2016 to one year and one day in prison for bank fraud and money laundering — must reappear before a judge because his defense team argued for a lesser sentencing than agreed to in his plea deal. The resentencing was first reported by the
Springfield News-Leader.
According to court documents, an advisory range of 57 to 71 months in prison, or roughly five to six years, was the agreement in Swisshelm’s
July 2015 plea agreement for the $5.6 million fraud scheme.
By arguing for lesser time in prison, Swisshelm violated the terms of the plea agreement, according to the court’s ruling yesterday.
“Defense counsel’s request for a downward variance constituted a clear violation of that agreement,” the court order reads. “Swisshelm argues that the breach was only technical and not material because it did not affect the district court’s judgment, but on this record we conclude that the breach was material, prejudicial and not harmless.”
During the sentencing hearing last year, Swisshelm’s counsel - Teresa Grantham, according to court documents - presented several letters from community members who said he should receive no prison time because of the quality of his character. His counsel proceeded to argue the plea agreement allowed for a variance, and the court agreed to let the attorney continue with that argument, according to court documents.
“The government argues that Swisshelm’s sentencing memorandum, the letters submitted therewith and defense counsel’s request for a downward variance violated the plea agreement,” the order reads.
The Eighth Circuit decision requires Swisshelm to submit to a resentencing hearing before a different judge, who would consider a sentence within the five- to six-year guideline range. The decision also removes Swisshelm’s previous sentence.
Swisshelm’s sentence came after his 2012 bankruptcy set off a series of closures, including Macaroni Grill and the south-side Ebbets Field. His sentence involved the submission of false financial documents to Great Southern Bank to receive four commercial loans totaling $5.6 million between February and June 25, 2011. He also was ordered to pay restitution.
In his
March 2012 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, Swisshelm reported $7.7 million in assets against $17.6 million in liabilities.
[[In-content Ad]]
