HAMMOND – Mary Elgin, 73, of Gary, Indiana was sentenced
before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen to 12 months and 1 day in prison and ordered
to pay $21,311 in restitution, announced U. S. Attorney Kirsch.
Elgin entered a plea of guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud, 1
count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 1 count of willful failure to file
a tax return in April of 2017.
According to documents in this case, Ethel Shelton was
convicted of two federal criminal conspiracy charges after a 10-day jury trial
and is awaiting sentencing.
Co-defendant, Alex Wheeler was found not guilty during the same
trial. Elgin’s son, Steven Hunter plead
guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud and 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
in April of 2017 and is awaiting sentencing.
Elgin created an environment whereby employees believed that retaining
their jobs hinged on purchasing tickets to her political fundraising events.
She used the resources of Calumet Township Trustee’s Office to further her
campaign rather than the way they were intended. The Calumet Township Trustee’s Office is a
local government entity whose primary mission is to provide emergency relief
and assistance to needy individuals and families.
U.S. Attorney Kirsch said, “Public corruption cannot and
will not be tolerated at any level.
Today’s sentence of imprisonment should send a strong message of
deterrence. Citizens expect and deserve
officials to act in the best interest of the public, free from self-dealing and
illegal self-enrichment. My office,
together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue matters
involving public corruption. I encourage
anyone with information concerning corrupt public officials to contact my
office or the FBI.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation with the assistance of Internal Revenue Service. This case was
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria Lerner, Abizer Zanzi and
Philip Benson.
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