‘Stunning abuses.’ Former Kentucky sheriff gets prison time, fine in alleged thefts
A former Kentucky sheriff accused of stealing money from a fund for undercover drug purchases was sentenced Friday to 13 months in federal prison.
Keith Cooper, the former sheriff in Greenup County, was in jail for about three months after he was indicted in January 2022. That will count against his sentence, leaving about 10 months.
U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove also fined Cooper $10,000.
In addition, Cooper has agreed to pay $60,000 in restitution. That does not count the value of about $29,000 worth of ammunition Cooper allegedly kept after leaving office.
Van Tatenhove will decide later on the total amount of restitution Cooper owes.
Cooper, now 70, was sheriff of Greenup County from 1996 until the end of 2018, and had served two decades as a Kentucky State Police officer before that, according to court records.
A federal grand jury charged that Cooper stole more than $58,000 while he was sheriff; kept ammunition bought with taxpayer money; and used his official vehicle and credit card for personal trips out of state.
The account involved in the charges was one where the sheriff’s office deposited money seized in investigations, such as cash taken from a drug dealer. The money was to be used for law enforcement activities, such as drug buys.
In addition to the accusation that Cooper took money from the account, he also allegedly skimmed money seized during investigations without depositing it into the account.
A state audit spotted a problem, which led to an investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and ultimately the FBI, according to a court document.
Cooper pleaded no contest to one charge of mail fraud, for allegedly mailing a false report to the attorney general’s office, and a charge of misappropriation of funds.
A no-contest plea means a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction. The effect is the same as pleading guilty.
Cooper has steadfastly maintained that he did not steal any money, said his attorney, Edward Lee Metzger III.
However, he decided to enter a plea because he kept such poor records he couldn’t account for all the money he was responsible for, or prove he spent it all legitimately, Metzger said.
The records at issue in the case included reports on drug buys that Cooper said he made while doing undercover work alone.
After authorities began investigating, Cooper had a deputy draw up reports on 11 cases, showing how he had spent money on investigations, and mail them to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office.
The investigations were real, but again, Cooper didn’t have the records to show that, Metzger said.
However, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone, said in a sentencing memorandum that Cooper produced fake reports to try to head off the investigation he faced.
Matt Easter, a detective for the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, testified the reports Cooper provided did not include information that would be standard.
Easter said he found no indication any of the cases resulted in referrals for prosecution and didn’t find any drugs logged into evidence related to any of the cases.
“I would say that those were fraudulent reports,” Easter said of the documents Cooper mailed to the state.
Boone, the prosecutor, said Cooper stole money intended for use in drug investigations, used the sheriff’s office as his personal ammunition supply and spent public money on his personal travel.
“Cooper’s crimes reflect stunning abuses of his authority and the public’s trust in him,” the memo said.
Cooper faced 18 to 24 months in prison under advisory federal guidelines.
Van Tatenhove credited Cooper for his “exemplary public service” as a longtime police officer in deciding on a sentence under the advisory range.
