NEWS RELEASE
LEXINGTON, Ky. —Timothy M. Longmeyer, the former Secretary of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, who previously admitted that he solicited and accepted over $200,000 in kickbacks from a private consultant during his tenure, has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell sentenced Longmeyer, 48, for bribery of a public official. Judge Caldwell also ordered Longmeyer to pay $203,500 in restitution. Under federal law, Longmeyer must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
Longmeyer pleaded guilty in April of this year and admitted that, while serving as Secretary of the Personnel Cabinet, he solicited and agreed to accept $212,500, in exchange for assistance in securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a consultant. Over the course of the scheme, Longmeyer received $197,500 in cash and $6,000 in straw campaign contributions to various political campaigns, for a total of $203,500.
“We appreciate the Court’s thoughtful decision in this matter and we are satisfied with the result,” said Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “No cases have a higher priority in our office than those involving public corruption, and we are committed to protecting the public from those who seek to unlawfully enrich themselves at the taxpayers’ expense.”
The sentencing today of Timothy Longmeyer, the guilty plea of co-conspirator Larry O’Bryan yesterday, along with the guilty verdicts returned Tuesday against Paintsville Mayor Robert Porter and on August 12 against Magoffin County Magistrate Gary Risner and others, are an indication of the FBI’s commitment to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to combat corruption of public officials at all levels,” said Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI.
Longmeyer oversaw the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan (“KEHP”) and used his position to persuade insurance companies, who provided KEHP healthcare coverage, to hire the consultant to organize focus groups and telephone surveys. In return, Longmeyer accepted recurring payments from the consultant, including cash and straw contributions.
According to the plea agreement, Longmeyer agreed to accept $90,000 from the consultant in November 2014 and $100,000 from the consultant in December 2014. The consultant later used the proceeds from contracts with Humana, Inc., to make a series of payments to Longmeyer between November 2014 and June 2015, totaling $175,000 in cash and $6,000.00 in straw contributions.
In addition, in September 2015, Longmeyer agreed to accept approximately $22,500 from the consultant. The consultant used the proceeds from a contract with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to make two cash payments to Longmeyer, totaling $22,500.
Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew T. Boone and Kathryn M. Anderson prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.