EDITOR'S NOTE: The charges against Kimble Blackburn were expunged on November 8, 2012.
RICHFIELD — Kimble Blackburn, who formerly headed finances for Snow College at Richfield, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 36 felony counts for diverting tens of thousands of dollars in college funds to his personal use.
With more than 20 family members, friends and neighbors in the 6th District courtroom, Blackburn pleaded guilty Tuesday to 36 felony counts for diverting tens of thousands of dollars in college funds to his personal use.
Blackburn had originally been charged with 43 counts. Under the plea bargain, six second-degree counts and one third-degree count were dropped.
Judge David Mower ordered a pre-sentence investigation by Adult Probation and Parole and set sentencing for July 15. Until sentencing, Blackburn remains free on $25,000 bail.
Mower said the guilty pleas could bring a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and fines of about $610,000.
In comments following the hearing, Earl Xais, Blackburn's attorney, said his client was feeling a "very significant amount of remorse." The plea agreement did not address what, if any, prison time Blackburn might receive. But Xais expressed hope that because Blackburn has cooperated with state auditors in unraveling fund diversions and has no prior record, he might avoid prison.
Xais said Blackburn had already agreed to pay $157,000 in restitution. "That money is in a trust account in my office," the attorney said.
Xais said that the prosecutor, Sevier County Attorney Don Brown, had agreed to accept the $157,000 as full restitution for all misappropriations addressed in a state audit covering July 2000 to November 2002. Blackburn is now cooperating with an audit covering 1997-2000, his attorney said. Blackburn maintains that he did not divert any money prior to July 2000, said Xais, "but if there is a showing that money was taken prior to 2000, (we) hope that it could be resolved without further charges by paying additional restitution."
Communication fraud, the crime to which Blackburn pleaded guilty, is a fairly new felony under Utah law. It involves two elements. First, a person must concoct a scheme to defraud someone or obtain something of value by false pretenses, and second, he or she must communicate with someone for the purpose of advancing the scheme.
In court, Mower reviewed the elements of the crime and asked Blackburn if he had committed such acts. Blackburn said yes. Mower asked him to describe what he had done. "I devised a way to take funds from the school without anybody knowing I had done that," Blackburn said. He said he had cashed college checks and diverted money to his personal use. Then, he said, he put money from payments to the college into the bank to cover the checks without properly crediting the payments in accounting records.
"I accept your pleas," said Mower. "I believe they are voluntarily made. I believe they're supported by sufficient facts." State auditors uncovered possible misuse of funds last fall during a routine audit. In November, they informed Snow College President Michael Benson that funds appeared to be missing.
Initially, Benson put Blackburn on leave. A few weeks later, after receiving the state auditor's report, Benson terminated him. Blackburn had been with Snow College at Richfield, formerly Snow College South, for 27 years. At the time he was fired, he held the title of vice president of finance and facilities.
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