Feds Ask for ‘Significant Term of Incarceration’ for Darin Richardson After Woodpile Case Conviction

The U.S. Attorneys’ Office asked a federal judge last week to sentence Darin Richardson to a term of incarceration longer than the 21-27 months recommended by sentencing guidelines.

“This range, while instructive, does not prohibit the Court from imposing a higher sentence — particularly given the defendant’s conviction on an additional territorial offense that carries a statutory maximum of five years’ imprisonment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court last week.

A jury in March found Richardson guilty of criminal conflict of interest, making material false statements to a federal agent, bank fraud, making a false statement on a loan and credit application and money laundering. The verdict came after a nearly two-week trial during which prosecutors argued that Richardson received a $107,000 kickback for improperly awarding a warehousing contract to manage lumber earmarked for disaster recovery projects — and that he later lied on a home construction loan application.

“The federal fraud and false statement convictions are intertwined with a territorial conflict-of-interest conviction, a charge grounded in local law and rooted in his abuse of executive authority for personal financial gain,” the government wrote. “That local offense, by statute, carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, reflecting the Legislature’s understanding that public corruption poses a serious threat to the integrity of government institutions.”