Lee County Commissioner Agrees to Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud

FORT MYERS, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the filing of an information and signed plea agreement in United States District Court against Lee County Commissioner Tammara Ann Hall, a/k/a Tammy Hall (53, Cape Coral). The information charges Hall with one count of wire fraud. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. An initial appearance and acceptance of plea hearing is set for October 3, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Frazier.

According to the plea agreement, Hall was a Lee County Commissioner running for re-election in the November 2010 general election. From November 2009 to November 2010, Hall diverted and embezzled approximately $33,756 of donor contributions to the Tammy Hall campaign fund and used the money for personal expenditures unrelated to the campaign. Hall completed Florida Department of State campaign fund quarterly reports and failed to disclose that she had diverted campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses. She falsely represented the nature of the expenditures, which she made for personal purposes, or omitted certain campaign contribution checks from the quarterly reports. Hall stole from her campaign fund by transferring funds electronically from the campaign bank account to her personal bank account, by writing checks from the campaign bank account and depositing the checks to her personal bank account, and by depositing certain donor campaign contribution checks directly into her personal bank account. Hall used interstate wires to accomplish the electronic transfer of funds from her campaign account to her personal account at Wachovia Bank.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey F. Michelland.