Attorneys for Wendy Askins, the former director of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD), who faces state charges of theft, money laundering and forgery in connection with the million-dollar “Living the Dream” retirement home scandal, have asked for and been denied a change of venue in the case.
Representatives for Askins argued that intense media coverage of her case has made it impossible for her to receive a fair trial in Putnam County. “The case has received an intense amount of pre-trial media coverage. The persistent drum beat of the media has focused exclusively on the allegations of misconduct which has had the result of ‘convicting’ Ms. Askins in the court of public opinion,” said Nashville-based Peter Strianse, one of Askins’ attorneys, at a hearing last Monday before Judge David Patterson in Cookeville.
The motion for a change of venue cited numerous stories on the subject, some extending as far back as 2012, months before her 2103 indictment on charges that she funneled UCDD funds through the retirement home, which was intended to offer housing to low-income senior citizens.
The state’s attorney general office, disagreed. Michael A. Meyer, with the special litigation division of the SOG’s office said that no real proof was offered that Askins could not receive a fair trial in Cookeville.
“This is a case about a public official who has been indicted for stealing money and engaging in other criminal behavior to conceal her theft,” Meyer said. “She has produced nothing to show anything to suggest that the people of Putnam County are so agitated or excited that the defendant cannot receive a fair trial in Putnam County.” Meyer argued that proof of negative coverage by the media does not constitute grounds for a change of venue. “Nobody has disputed the media covering this case,” Meyer told the judge. “If this request is denied by the court, then we can certainly come up with a questionnaire for jurors at the time of jury selection.”
The motion for change of venue was denied. Askins trial on the state charges is set for April 12.
Meanwhile, she is scheduled to go on trial on federal charges on March 8, but a new indictment that tweaks the charges against her is expected to delay that trial.
According to a new indictment filed on Feb. 24, Askins will face 12 federal charges rather than the original 16. She now must answer to one count of conspiracy, two counts of embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds, one count of theft of government property, two counts of bank fraud and four counts of money laundering.
Askins and her former deputy director Larry Webb were originally indicted on a laundry list of charges in September 2013. The two were charged with conspiring to commit various federal offenses, as well as six counts of theft and conversion of government property in excess of $1,000; four counts of bank fraud; three counts of money laundering; and one count of concealing a material fact within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Webb pled guilty to one count of bank fraud last year, and agreed to testify against Askins in both the state and federal cases.
The newest indictment accuses Askins of obtaining an increased line of credit in a CRDC (Cumberland Regional Development Corporation) at First National Bank of Tennessee from $150,000 to $300,000 on April 28, 2011, then pledging a UCDD money market account as collateral without the prior approval of the CRDC board of directors. It is further charged that Askins caused Webb to obtain a $225,000 loan from the CAIC (Cumberland Area Investment Corporation) board of directors on behalf of the project, with the check signed by Askins and a CAIC board member in July 2011.
It also accuses Askins of directing Webb and another UCDD employee to alter the minutes of the February 16, 2010 UCDD executive committee meeting, that on Jan. 10, 2012, Askins and Webb directed a UCDD employee to delete recordings of prior meetings, then the following day following a meeting with UCDD legal counsel, Askins and Webb directed a UCDD employee to delete all audio recordings of UCDD executive committee board meetings from a UCDD computer.
The indictment also charges that Askins instructed two UCDD employees on Jan. 18, 2012 to get their stories straight in advance of a special-called UCDD executive committee meeting scheduled for the next day, and that she directed a UCDD board member during that meeting to read a statement that the $300,000 transfer to fund the project was previously approved at a Feb. 16, 2010 meeting, knowing that the transfer had not been discussed or authorized at that meeting.
She is also accused of knowingly and willfully embezzling and converting, for her use and the use of others, a loan from CAIC in the amount of $225,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce in July 2011
If convicted, Askins could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge, 10 years and a $250,000 penalty for each embezzlement charge, theft of government and money laundering charges, and 30 years and a $1 million penalty for each charge of bank fraud.
