Diehl Defrauded Small Business Administration, Judge Pitlyk Sends Him to 21 Months in Prison

A former Missouri House speaker, John Diehl, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal COVID-19 relief funds intended for small businesses, with reports noting the sentence and the charge in multiple outlets.

“Former Missouri House speaker sentenced to prison for COVID relief fraud JEFFERSON CITY, Mo”

Associated Press

The Guardian reported Diehl "was sentenced on Monday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal Covid-19 relief funds for his personal benefit, including payments for country club dues and three cars."

Associated Press

The Associated Press similarly stated "A former Missouri House speaker was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal COVID-19 relief funds for his personal benefit."

RiverBender confirmed the term and noted the sentence was handed down in federal court in St. Louis: "Former St. Louis lawyer and former Missouri House Speaker John J. Diehl Jr. was sentenced Monday in federal court in St. Louis to 21 months in prison and fined $50,000 after pleading guilty to wire fraud..."

Prosecutors say Diehl obtained roughly $380,000 in federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for his law firm between 2020 and 2022 and misrepresented the intended use of the funds.

RiverBender detailed the EIDL applications and totals, reporting Diehl "applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, on behalf of his law firm, the Diehl Law Group, on March 30, 2020, and obtained $94,900. In March 2022, he requested an EIDL loan modification and received $285,000, bringing the total to $379,900."

The American Bazaar

The Guardian summarized the amount as "about $380,000 in federal loans for his law firm between 2020 and 2022 through a program intended to help cover operating expenses for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic."

Ucodigital.ar also reported the same figure: "Republican former House Speaker John Diehl received about $380,000 in federal loans for his law firm between 2020 and 2022 through a program intended to help cover operating costs for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic."

According to the plea agreement and prosecutors, Diehl diverted the funds to a wide range of personal expenses rather than business operating costs, including country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, mortgage payments, vehicle payments, and to fund his law firm’s defined-benefit plan.

“Former Missouri Speaker Of House Sentenced for COVID Loan Fraud JEFFERSON CITY, MO”

RiverBender

The Guardian reported he "used the money for personal expenses such as country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, his home mortgage, and vehicle payments for a Tesla, an Audi and a Jeep."

The Associated Press likewise listed those items: "he instead used the money for personal expenses, including country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, his home mortgage and vehicle payments for a Tesla, Audi and Jeep."

Prosecutors also said he "used more than half the money to fund his law firm’s defined benefit plan, of which he was the only participant," a detail included in both The Guardian and AP accounts and echoed in ucodigital.ar: "Prosecutors said he used more than half the money to fund his law firm’s defined-benefit plan, in which he was the only participant, and also paid a civil settlement related to his time as House speaker."

Diehl’s political history and prior sanctions were widely reported alongside the fraud case: he resigned as Missouri House speaker in 2015 after The Kansas City Star reported he had exchanged sexually suggestive text messages with a college intern, and he has previously faced ethics penalties for campaign finance violations.

Both The Guardian and the Associated Press recounted that "Diehl resigned as house speaker in 2015 after the Kansas City Star reported that he had exchanged sexually suggestive text messages with a college student serving as a capitol intern," with AP using the phrasing "Capitol intern."

USA Today

The Guardian and ucodigital.ar noted a 2023 Missouri ethics commission action: "In 2023, the Missouri ethics commission imposed a roughly $47,000 fine on Diehl for campaign finance violations, including allegations that he used nearly $6,800 of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses," a fine the AP also described as "roughly $47,000."

Court filings and reports say Diehl had already repaid the pandemic loans and asked the court to spare him prison time, but the judge ordered incarceration and a monetary penalty.

“A former Missouri state house speaker was sentenced on Monday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal Covid-19 relief funds for his personal benefit, including payments for country club dues and three cars”

The Guardian

RiverBender noted "Diehl, 60, has already repaid the loan money."

Associated Press

Both The Guardian and the Associated Press recorded that "Diehl had asked the federal court to spare him from prison, noting that he had already paid back all the pandemic relief funds to the Small Business Administration (SBA)."

RiverBender also reported the court imposed a $50,000 fine: "...was sentenced Monday in federal court in St. Louis to 21 months in prison and fined $50,000 after pleading guilty to wire fraud..."