Allen Loughry, has been indicted on 22 federal counts of fraud, witness tampering and lying to a federal agent. He was arrested on Wednesday morning
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry, who published a book on corruption in government, has been indicted on 22 charges relating to fraud and witness tampering.
Loughry was charged late on Tuesday with 16 counts of frauds and swindles, three counts of making false statements, two counts of fraud by wire, radio or television and one count of witness tampering.
His misdeeds include using a state vehicle and credit card for his personal use – including taking state cars and using government funds to attend signing events for his book.
He is also accused of taking state-owned property from his office and moving it to his home, including a couch worth $32,000, which was installed during expensive renovations on his office at the West Virginia Supreme Court.
In addition to the couch, Loughry is accused of moving a historic, valuable desk from the Supreme Court office to his home during the office renovations; and of lying to federal agents about his actions and trying to influence an employee’s testimony.
Loughry allegedly lied to federal agents and the media about his knowledge of the cost of the renovations and the level of involvement he had in making decisions on furniture to be installed and on an intricate floor medallion that showed the state of West Virginia and each county represented with a different cut of wood.
According to the indictment, obtained by the West Virginia Gazette Mail, Loughry spent about $363,000 of state money on the renovations all up, and was deeply involved in what would go into the office – despite knowing the high cost.
In addition to the $32,000 blue suede couch, Loughry is accused of approving the floor medallion, worth $7,500, throw pillows at a cost of $1700, eight chairs costing $16,374, and a coffee table costing $2,560.
Courtesy: WOWK-TV
Many of the charges against Loughry have to do with extremely expensive renovations on his office soon after he took office in 2013. Purchases included a blue suede couch (pictured) costing $32,000
Loughry also requested a detailed floor medallion (pictured) where each county in West Virginia is represented by a different cut of wood. The intricate flooring detail cost $7,500
FBI agents arrested Loughry on Wednesday morning and took him to the federal courthouse in Charleston to face a 22-count federal indictment.
The indictment says his fraud scheme began in 2013, shortly after he was elected.
If convicted on all counts, Stuart said Loughry faces a possible sentence of up to 395 years and a fine of up to $5.5 million.
‘It’s a solemn day for West Virginia,’ U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said. ‘The West Virginia Supreme Court should be and must be above reproach, even above the slightest appearance of impropriety.’
Loughry was suspended from the bench without pay earlier this month after a state Judicial Investigation Commission filed a 32-count complaint with the court alleging he ‘made false statements with the deliberate attempt to deceive’ concerning his involvement in the renovation of his office. The complaint also said he failed to tell other justices about a federal subpoena, and it contained the accusations about moving office furniture to his home and improperly using state vehicles.
Loughry’s attorney, John A. Carr, declined to comment. Loughry has repeatedly denied involvement in the office renovations. One such denial came during an appearance before the House Committee on Finance in January.
Republican Gov. Jim Justice had urged Loughry to resign if the complaints were accurate. The Legislature’s Republican leaders, Senate President Mitch Carmichael and House Speaker Tim Armstead, said Wednesday that Loughry should resign while the case against him proceeds.
In addition to the couch and flooring medallion, Loughry allegedly also approved spending more than $16,000 on eight chairs for the office
He is accused of lying to federal agents and the media about how involved he was in decision making and his knowledge of the cost
‘There is an established system in place to adjudicate and fairly resolve this matter,’ Carmichael said in a statement. ‘Nevertheless, the confidence and workmanship in the judicial branch of government must be held to the highest standards of propriety and respect. Therefore, Justice Loughry should immediately resign his position as Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.’
Loughry was a Supreme Court law clerk for nine years before being elected to the court in 2012. Before that he was a senior assistant attorney general and a special prosecutor.
Loughry wrote a 2006 book chronicling West Virginia political corruption. Fighting corruption became a major theme of his 2012 court campaign.
The federal indictment says Loughry’s scheme to defraud started unraveling in August 2016 in a dispute with another justice about vehicle usage. It says news outlets began investigating ‘extraordinary spending’ by the Supreme Court in the fall of 2017 and reported on the missing leather couch among other things. Authorities say Loughry returned the couch the day after the report and returned the desk three days later.
He was removed as chief justice in February after the justices learned that he had kept the federal subpoena secret.
If he is convicted, he faces a fine of up to $5.5million and 395 years behind bars