Tommy Lee Walton, II, 39, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Nashville for his role in an honest services mail and wire fraud scheme involving his payment of bribes and kickbacks to a former president of the Clarksville Department of Electricity, announced David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Walton was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 24 months of incarceration in a halfway house and 24 months of home confinement. He also was ordered to pay restitution to the Clarksville Department of Electricity in the amount of $95,211.38.
“Corrupt practices by public officials and consultants undermine the confidence that citizens must have in their governmental institutions," said Acting U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “The costs of corruption are born by taxpayers, ratepayers, honest vendors and honest public employees. The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting individuals who fraudulently game the system to line their own pockets at the expense of the public and of all those who labor honestly and follow the rules."
Walton was found guilty by a federal court jury in January 2013 of nine counts of honest services mail fraud and seven counts of honest services wire fraud. According to testimony at trial, in November 2008 Walton was hired as a consultant for the Clarksville, Tennessee Department of Electricity by Rick R. Ingram, Sr., then president of the Clarksville Department of Electricity. From November 2008 through June 2009, Walton and his business entity, IntelliNet Consulting LLC, invoiced and received from the Clarksville Department of Electricity a total of $156,139,39. The payment of each invoice was approved by Ingram.
During that same time, Walton paid $51,500 directly to Ingram or to one of Ingram’s creditors. The payments by Walton to Ingram were not disclosed to members of the Clarksville Electric Power Board or to other employees at the Clarksville Department of Electricity. The United States alleged that these payments by Walton were bribes and kickbacks and that the concealment of these payments from the Clarksville Department of Electricity deprived the Clarksville Department of Electricity and its customers of the honest services of Ingram.
On May 25, 2012, Rick R. Ingram, Sr. entered a plea of guilty to two counts of honest services mail fraud and two counts of honest services wire fraud related to the same scheme for which Walton was convicted and sentenced and related to a separate scheme involving Walton’s father, Tommy L. Walton, Sr. Ingram testified at the Walton trial. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Ingram on Nov. 1, 2013.
Tommy L. Walton, Sr. entered a plea of guilty to eight counts of honest services mail fraud and to five counts of honest services wire fraud on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. A sentencing hearing for Tommy L. Walton, Sr. is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2013.
This case was investigated by the Tennessee Valley Authority Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Byron Jones and John Webb.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
