Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Thursday, August 14, 2014
(BLOOMINGTON) - Former longtime Bloomington Engineering Project Manager and Bedford resident Justin Wykoff will not plead guilty to charges alleging he was the mastermind behind a three-year scheme that defrauded taxpayers of more than $800,000.
Wykoff's Attorney John Boren, of Martinsville, says a jury of Wykoff's peers will determine his fate.
Federal investigators have not found the nearly quarter of a million dollars that was Wykoff's share in what authorities claim was a nearly three-year conspiracy to embezzle taxpayer money.
Wykoff is facing 24 counts of embezzlement by converting governmental funds for his own use and one count of conspiracy to commit a federal crime. He posted bond and is living with his girlfriend and probation officers are monitoring Wykoff with a GPS device.
Co-defendant 51-year-old Roger Hardin, of Bedford, remains in federal detention because he was on parole after serving prison time for burglary and drug convictions in Lawrence County and because investigators say he tried to conceal his involvement in this new crime.
Hardin and his 25-year-old son, Zachary, each are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a federal crime. The son, who has no criminal record, was released from custody.
Federal agents arrested all three men in March and charged them with a plot overcharging the city for concrete work and then splitting the cash among themselves.
Federal public defenders, Steven Allen and Sam Ansell, will be representing the Hardins.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.