No appeal : Prosecutors will not appeal Coughlin sentence
Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008
BENTONVILLE — Federal prosecutors will not appeal the home-confinement and community-service sentence given to former Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Tom Coughlin.
Bob Balfe, U. S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced Friday that there would be no appeal of Coughlin’s resentencing.
“ For over two years, we have strenuously fought to have Mr. Coughlin sent to prison like thousands of other inmates who have committed similar crimes, ” Balfe said.
Balfe said a recent U. S. Supreme Court decision gave federal district judges broad authority to sentence defendants as the judges see fit.
“ Therefore, further appeal of this case will serve only to delay the inevitable at greater expense to the government, ” Balfe said.
In January 2006, Coughlin pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Criminal information charged that Coughlin used his position at Wal-Mart from 1996 to 2002 to execute a scheme to illegally instruct subordinate employees to manipulate the employee travel-reimbursement and vendor-invoice accounting system at Wal-Mart to embezzle money, gift cards and products that were provided to Coughlin for his personal benefit. U. S. District Judge Robert Dawson sentenced Coughlin in August 2006 to five years’ probation with 27 of the months on home detention. He was ordered to pay a $ 50, 000 fine, $ 306, 822. 40 in restitution to Wal-Mart and $ 104, 395. 60 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Prosecutors had requested prison time for Coughlin. Federal prosecutors appealed Coughlin’s original sentence. The 8 th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent Coughlin’s case back for resentencing.
In February, Dawson let Coughlin’s original sentence stand but added 1, 500 hours of community service.
For each of the charges of wire fraud, Coughlin could have received a prison sentence of up to five years, been fined up to $ 250, 000 or both. For the tax-evasion charge, he could have been sentenced to up to three years in prison, fined up to $ 100, 000 or both.
Coughlin has paid the fine and restitution amounts.
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