Former Dixie County Attorney Sentenced to 87 Months’ Imprisonment

February 9, 2010 - GAINESVILLE, FL—Thomas F. Kirwin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced that Joseph T. Lander, the former County Attorney for Dixie County, was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment following a sentencing hearing conducted today before United States District Judge Stephan P. Mickle in Gainesville. Lander had been indicted for mail, wire and bank fraud, as well as money laundering arising from his actions as the Dixie County Attorney and as the CEO of GenSpec, LLC., a vitamin company he founded. Lander was convicted of five counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering at the conclusion of a jury trial in October of last year. Evidence introduced at trial established that Lander fraudulently induced a former client and others to invest in GenSpec. Lander diverted the funds from those investments into other businesses he started. At sentencing, the Court found that Lander had diverted more than $1,000,000 to his own use over a five-month period of time.

Evidence at trial also showed that while acting as County Attorney in 2005, Lander fraudulently demanded and received payment of an $820,000 performance bond from developers having business before Dixie County. At the time Lander demanded payment of the performance bond, he knew that no bond was required and had no authority to personally accept payment of the bond, which was deposited into Lander’s law firm account. Lander then spent more than $300,000 of the money on luxury items and other personal expenses.

Additional provisions of the sentence require Lander to pay a $50,000 fine, $1600 in court costs, and serve a 3 year term of supervised release upon completing his prison sentence. A restitution hearing will be scheduled within the next 90 days to determine the amount of loss. Lander was immediately taken into custody after the judge determined he was a flight risk.

Mr. Kirwin praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, whose investigation led to the convictions in this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McMahon.