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Leon and Karen Dingle were convicted by a federal jury on charges of running a state grant scam to funnel funds to use for luxury cars and vacation homes. The Chicago Tribune reports $3.36 million in funds for minority communities were used for their own personal expenses.

The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for about five hours on the fate of Leon and Karin Dingle, who faced conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering charges. Prosecutors contended that the Dingles helped themselves to $3.36 million in state grant funds that were supposed to fight AIDS, flu and cancer in minority communities and misrepresented or concealed where the money went.

During the trial, prosecutors sought to prove money went instead to underwrite luxury cars, a Marina Towers condo, a son’s mortgage, yacht club expenses, and maintenance of vacation homes in Hilton Head, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., two places the Dingles are putting up for sale. Prosecutors will seek to recover money at sentencing April 9. Most counts carry potential 20-year sentences.

During the trial, a close associate of President Obama, Eric Whittaker, was declared a hostile witness. Whittaker was the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health which distributed the grants that went to the Dingle’s organization. Ultimately, he was not called to testify.


3 Responses

  1. Niglin watoto

    Lock them up and destroy the key, and he had nerve to call himself a doctor.


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