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.”
Richardson was arrested last June alongside contractor Davidson Charlemagne, former maintenance director for the V.I. Education Department, and Sasha Charlemagne, who together ran the company that received the contract. The Charlemagnes have not yet gone to trial. Richardson’s sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for July, but it was delayed multiple times due to scheduling conflicts and so that Richardson’s attorney, Darren John-Baptiste, could represent business owner Benjamin Hendricks in a separate fraud trial involving public officials and federal funds on St. Thomas.
John-Baptiste argued for a sentence of probation in a sentencing memorandum filed by the defense in early July. In last week’s filing, the government argued against leniency given Richardson’s role as chief executive of a semiautonomous government agency at the time he committed some of the offenses.
Richardson, they wrote, “is not a man without opportunity, education or professional success. He served nearly a decade as the COO of the VIHFA, an agency entrusted with managing critical housing initiatives and administering substantial federal funds. He occupied the second-highest-ranking position in the agency, supervised various departments, and held decision-making authority over contracts and personnel. He was not a low–level employee who misunderstood his role — he was the individual others looked to for guidance on policy, compliance and integrity.”
Prosecutors argued that the sentence “will speak beyond this courtroom.”
“It will speak to government employees across the Virgin Islands who may be tempted to cut ethical corners,” they wrote. “It will speak to the public, who are watching closely and waiting to see whether justice will be done.”
St. Croix Source
Local news
