John Schmidt apologized to his victims in court. "I am sorry, they deserve better," he said. "I will promise whatever time I have left on this earth I will try to make atonement for my sins."
But defense attorneys for John Schmidt, who pleaded guilty in September to wire and bank fraud argued in court documents that his behavior was “out of character” and caused by depression and anxiety, requesting a judge sentence him Thursday to 27 months in prison.
John Schmidt is facing a maximum of 80 years in prison and a $2.5 million fine, as well as more than $300,000 in restitution.
In May, John Schmidt was indicted by a federal grand jury in Louisville on charges of committing wire and bank fraud.
John Schmidt, a former Bullitt County Master Commissioner and county public administrator, “devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money” from two separate trusts between September 2014 and January 2019 to use “for his own personal expenditures, according to the indictment.
John Schmidt is a former Bullitt County Master Commissioner and county public administrator and was the focus of a WDRB Investigation back in January.
Police put out a social media post, calling Schmidt a person of interest and charging him with abuse of public trust and theft.
A litany of lawsuits, audits and other findings raises questions about why John Schmidt hasn’t faced criminal charges or how he kept a job controlling funds meant for decades.
The Bullitt County Sheriff's Office said 63-year-old John Schmidt went missing earlier this month.