Former Utility CEO Sentenced to Prison
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe former chief executive officer of the Hendricks Power Cooperative has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. Donnis Mizelle pled guilty to embezzling nearly $600,000 from the utility.
Mizelle had served as CEO from 2003 to 2015. U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler says for more than six years, Mizelle falsified HPC expense reports and used the utility’s money for personal expenses, including vacations, jewelry, electronics, tickets to sporting events and guns.
"We place a tremendous amount of trust and responsibility in our business leaders, particularly our CEOs," said Minkler. "Exploiting that trust for purely personal gain causes more than financial harm. It devastates employee morale, shakes the confidence of customers, and contributes to a belief that the system is rigged in favor of those at the top. This office will vigorously prosecute executives who betray the special trust we place in them."
Mizelle has been ordered to pay full restitution to the HPC and will serve one year of supervised release once his prison sentence is complete.