Opinion ID: 755643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Misappropriating Local Government Property

Text: 11 Hawkey challenges three counts of misappropriating local government property in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 7 and 666. To obtain a conviction under § 666, the government must prove that Hawkey (1) was an agent of Minnehaha County at the time of the offense; (2) embezzled, stole, obtained by fraud, willingly converted, or intentionally misapplied Minnehaha County property worth at least $5,000; and (3) the offense occurred during the time in which Minnehaha County received in excess of $10,000 in any one year from a qualified federal program. See United States v. Valentine, 63 F.3d 459, 462 (6th Cir.1995). 12 As sheriff, Hawkey was an agent of Minnehaha County. The record indicates that since October 1977, Hawkey owned and operated a for-profit inmate food service business. 8 During 1991 and 1992, Hawkey purchased federal surplus food with checks drawn on the benefit concert accounts and sold it to the Minnehaha County Jail for his personal profit. In January and September 1992, Hawkey purchased a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice and a 1990 Chevrolet Lumina van for his personal use with at least $27,450 of misappropriated county funds. Between January 1992 and May 1994, Hawkey charged prisoners in the custody of the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Department a fee for urinalysis testing, illegally keeping the fees for his personal use. Hawkey does not contest that Minnehaha County received in excess of $10,000 in any relevant year from a qualified federal program. We conclude that, under these facts, a reasonable jury could have found Hawkey guilty of misappropriating government funds.