Former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl, who pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud, is asking a federal judge for leniency as he faces the possibility of years behind bars.
Diehl admitted in September to defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration out of $379,900 by obtaining a pandemic loan intended to help struggling small businesses and using the money for personal expenses. Those included payments on a Tesla, an Audi and a Jeep, as well as pool maintenance, country-club dues, mortgage bills and college tuition for a family member.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
In a sentencing memorandum filed earlier this month by Diehl’s attorneys, he asks for a “noncustodial sentence,” meaning a punishment that would not include prison.
Diehl argues prison is unnecessary because he is a first-time offender who repaid the full amount before sentencing. His lawyers say his guilty plea, acceptance of responsibility and early restitution demonstrate genuine remorse. They also cite his age, health issues, work history and family responsibilities, including caring for aging parents.
Three pages of the sentencing memo are redacted.
Diehl was originally scheduled to be sentenced Friday, but both his attorneys and federal prosecutors asked for a delay. The stated reason for the postponement was largely redacted from the court filing, aside from a line saying: “The parties anticipate that they will require an additional 30 to 45 days to conclude the investigation.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not comment on the investigation that warranted the sentencing delay.
At the height of his political career, Diehl was arguably Missouri’s most powerful elected official. That ended in 2015, when The Kansas City Star reported he had exchanged sexually inappropriate messages with a 19-year-old House intern. Diehl initially refused to resign but stepped down after losing support within his party.
After leaving office, Diehl largely stayed out of public view before reemerging in 2018 as an advocate for a company he co-owned that sought to mine cobalt in Missouri’s Bootheel.
He later became embroiled in controversy in Independence, when the FBI began scrutinizing a contract to demolish the power plant in Missouri City owned by Independence Power & Light. Diehl was an attorney for the company that won the contract despite bidding twice as much as the other company seeking the job.
A federal grand jury issued subpoenas seeking records related to the deal, including minutes from closed Independence City Council meetings, and investigators interviewed multiple city officials. Only one person has faced any criminal charges connected to the Independence contracts — attorney and former Jackson County official John Carnes — who was sentenced to a 21-month prison sentence for tax evasion.
A Kansas City businessman named Joseph Campbell who was connected to the utility contract testified under oath that the FBI questioned him about Diehl, whom he accused of trying to create a fake attorney-client relationship in order to keep from having to hand over certain documents the government had requested through a subpoena.
Diehl denied Campbell’s accusation at the time.
Campbell was indicted by a federal grand jury in Kansas last month for federal wire fraud and money laundering involving pandemic-era loan programs.
Diehl is now scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 19, though his attorney has asked that the hearing be moved into March due to a scheduling conflict.
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