Kenton County Man Sentenced 16 Months for Making False Statements to FBI

COVINGTON—A Kenton County man who lied to the FBI about the location of more than a quarter-million dollars was sentenced today to 16 months in prison and assessed a $30,000 fine.

U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves imposed the sentence on Steven Michael Skidmore, 49, for making false statements to an agency of the United States.

Skidmore was immediately remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals after the sentencing. In 2004, A. William Erpenbeck was sentenced to 25 years in prison for bank fraud. In May of 2002, while under investigation, Erpenbeck gave more than $250,000 to Skidmore and advised him to hide the money so that he could retrieve it after leaving prison.

Skidmore was later questioned by the FBI as it searched for Erpenbeck’s assets that could be used to satisfy the court’s restitution order entered on behalf of the victims of the fraud. On four separate occasions, Skidmore lied to FBI agents when he told them he didn’t know of the whereabouts of any of Erpenbeck’s assets.

In September 2009, Skidmore admitted to a cooperating witness that he had in fact received cash from Erpenbeck and buried it in a cooler near the third tee box at the Summit Hills Country Club golf course in Kenton County.

On October 1, 2009, FBI agents discovered $257,611 at the location Skidmore named. Two months earlier, Erpenbeck, while in prison, requested an interview with the FBI and told agents about the money and Skidmore’s involvement.

Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Elizabeth A. Fries, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly announced the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Robert McBride.

Under federal law, Skidmore will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence and two years of supervised release.