INDIANA, USA — A former Indiana State Senator has been sentenced to federal prison for devising an election finance scheme.
Darryl Brent Waltz, 48, pleaded guilty to receiving fictitious donations and for lying and misleading the FBI agents investigating the illegal contributions.
Waltz was sentenced to ten months in federal prison.
According to the Department of Justice, Waltz, a former Indiana State Senator and 2016 candidate for United State Congress in Indiana’s 9th congressional district, funneled $40,500 in illegal contributions to his congressional campaign.
The FBI and IRS’s criminal investigation unit investigated the case.
Waltz was also sentenced to two years of probation after his prison sentence and a $40,500 fine.
John Keeler, 72, was also sentenced in the election finance scheme. Keeler was the former vice president of New Centaur LLC.
New Centaur LLC, an Indiana-based casino company paid Rogers $41,000 in New Centaur corporate funds and directed him to funnel $25,000 to a local political party committee.
Keeler falsely claimed that the $41,000 payment to Rogers was a business expense in the casino company’s taxes.
He was sentenced to two months in federal prison, one year of probation and a $55,000 fine for filing a false tax return.
“Illegal and undisclosed corporate contributions damage public trust in our elections,” said Zachary A. Myers, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Secretly funneling illegal casino money into political campaigns is a serious crime and the criminals who do so will be held accountable.”
