A person who stole $1.5 million from two Shriners teams, together with cash meant to cowl life-saving medical flights for kids, has been sentenced to 16 years in jail.
The punishment, unusually stiff for a white-collar crime right here, adopted a three-hour listening to Friday at which Decide Adam Espinosa heard in regards to the life and crimes of William Schwartz.
“The cash that you simply took — the typical revenue in our group is $78,000,” Espinosa advised the 44-year-old. “$1.5 million — many in our group received’t earn that of their lives.”
Whereas he was treasurer of the El Jebel Shrine Affiliation in Denver from 2014 to 2019, the Fort Rock man moved greater than $1.2 million that had been earmarked for the fraternal group and Shriners Hospitals for Kids to financial institution accounts for his corporations.
Then, in 2019, Schwartz grew to become treasurer of the Order of Quetzalcoatl, a Masonic group that additionally sends cash to Shriners hospitals. Schwartz stole greater than $250,000 from it.
Schwartz was indicted in April 2022 and convicted by a jury in Might of this 12 months. Jurors discovered he had dedicated two counts of felony theft. At trial, Schwartz didn’t dispute the theft allegations however argued the costs had been filed too late, exterior a statute of limitations.
“I don’t suppose ‘I’m sorry’ is ever going to be sufficient for any of the those who I damage,” Schwartz advised Espinosa via tears and sobs simply earlier than he was sentenced Friday.
“I cheated them,” he stated. “I cheated the those who the cash was meant to assist.”
Schwartz’s spouse and 14-year-old daughter didn’t attend the sentencing and solely his psychiatrist testified on his behalf. In consequence, either side of the courtroom have been crammed with dozens of Shriners and their supporters, lots of them sporting their maroon, tassled fezes.
A number of Shriners testified passionately about their teams’ philanthropic work, which incorporates paying to airlift badly burned youngsters in Central America to Shriners hospitals. They transport 200 sufferers a 12 months at a mean value of $23,000 every, in accordance with testimony.
“This isn’t a destitute man who was attempting to feed his household. He’s a sociopath who thinks he can reap the benefits of something he desires to,” Order of Quetzalcoatl CEO Rick Corbin stated of Schwartz. “…He must be locked up with the opposite wolves, to guard the innocents.”
Joe Kent, a pacesetter within the native El Jebel Shrine, stated that Schwartz has by no means apologized.
“His deeds have been thought out and deliberate,” Kent testified. “He knew who he was stealing from and it didn’t hassle him. It didn’t hassle him in any respect, not one bit.”
Schwartz’s lawyer, Richard Tegtmeier, emphasised that each teams Schwartz stole from have been capable of proceed paying for the airlifts by drawing on their financial savings.
“Each baby that El Jebel was requested to assist take to a hospital was taken to a hospital,” the protection lawyer stated. “… No youngsters have been ever harmed right here.”
Wearing a business-casual outfit of khakis and blue gown shirt unbuttoned on the collar, Schwartz sat together with his fingers folded by his mouth and his eyes straight forward. His reddish face would wince when witnesses referred to as him names or tarnished his character.
Gary Gutterman, a psychiatrist in Denver who started seeing Schwartz after he was indicted, testified that his affected person had a “troublesome and traumatic” childhood, adopted by a neurological dysfunction as a younger man and a bout of most cancers in 2012. Gutterman repeatedly referred to Schwartz’s greed as “an intoxication” and “an habit” that he couldn’t management.
“He stated to me, ‘I obtained caught up in greed. I couldn’t put an finish to it. It was intoxicating,’” Gutterman testified, referring to his remedy periods with Schwartz.
“He stated, ‘I repeatedly stated to myself, I’m going to cease this, however like several habit, I couldn’t cease,’” the psychiatrist added. When requested by Espinosa if he was saying greed is an habit, Gutterman clarified that he meant Schwartz can proceed to learn from remedy.
Gutterman and Tegtmeier framed Schwartz’s crimes as an try and sustain with the “excessive life” of his Shriner associates, remarks that earned eyerolls within the courtroom gallery.
“The lads which are Shriners — nearly all of them have been profitable in enterprise. They’re those who Invoice appeared as much as, individuals who you’ll be able to inform have a excessive diploma of success in life and Invoice wished to have that,” Tegtmeier stated. “He didn’t have that in his youth.”
Deputy District Lawyer Katie Kirk stated that on the time of his arrest, “Mr. Schwartz was dwelling a very privileged life” with the cash he stole. She listed a virtually million-dollar home, trip residence in southern Colorado and timeshare in Hawaii, a $100,000 Lincoln, “$30,000 in plastic Legos purchased as a enterprise enterprise,” and $12,000 in customized fits.
“This case is a little bit of an aberration as a result of we haven’t seen victimization of a charitable group on this scale since I’ve been on the DA’s Workplace,” stated Kirk, who joined the workplace 9 years in the past.
Some Shriners requested Espinosa to condemn Schwartz to 24 years in jail, the utmost allowed below regulation. Kirk requested for jail time however didn’t specify how lengthy of a stint she thought acceptable. Tegtmeier requested that his consumer be sentenced to probation, not jail.
“I do know that we’re all greater than the worst factor that we’ve finished however what you probably did right here is critical. These are a few of the most critical offenses in our system,” Espinosa advised Schwartz, noting that one cost was a Class 2 felony, on par with some murders.
“Your motive actually appeared to concentrate on selling your life-style. You actually struck me as any individual who wished to get forward however maybe determined that slightly than put the arduous work in, you’ll cheat others,” the decide stated. “This wasn’t an actual property rip-off or a pyramid scheme, it was a few years of taking cash from a gaggle of people that have been your mates.”
With that, he sentenced him to 16 years in jail for the theft from El Jebel and 6 years for the theft from Order of Quetzalcoatl, to run concurrently. Schwartz should additionally serve three years of probation and pay restitution. The quantity of restitution will likely be determined at a later date.
“You’ll get out of jail a lot earlier than you suppose,” stated Espinosa, noting defendants not often serve a full sentence, “and I hope you may make good in your promise of restitution.”
Because the decide made his remarks, three Denver sheriff’s deputies walked behind Schwartz and eliminated their handcuffs. He was arrested when the decide completed speaking.
Schwartz’s authorized proceedings are removed from over. In February, he was charged with one felony depend of tax evasion and 4 felony counts of submitting a false tax return between 2017 and 2020. He was scheduled to be arraigned in that case Friday but it surely was postponed.
In the meantime, for the fez-clad Shriners who crammed a courtroom Friday, there was a lot emotion.
“I’m completely happy,” Bobby Marner, an area Shriner, stated after the listening to, whereas he dabbed his purple, moist eyes exterior the courtroom. Then he paused, sniffled and added, “However I’m additionally unhappy.”