Buyer asks for mercy in federal sentencing
Also, Kingdom Come Festival enters final day of musical performances
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Multiple media outlets are reporting that former Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer of Noblesville will be sentenced in July for insider trading. Buyer, 64, was convicted in federal court in March on four counts of securities fraud.
Buyer was charged last summer for using information he received while working as a lobbyist to purchase stock ahead of 2018 merger between cellular carriers Sprint and T-Mobile and again when Navigant, a management consulting company, acquired Guidehouse, a company for which he consulted.
Buyer represented the people of Howard County as the 5th District Congressman, beginning in 1993. He left public office in 2011. The federal court in Manhattan, NY, found that he profited by $350,000 through his insider trading activities.
Sentencing on the convictions will take place on July 11, but on June 14, Buyer’s attorneys filed a request that he be allowed to serve less than his presumptive three-year sentence on home confinement and through community service. They argued that the case did not show Buyer had willfully obstructed justice, and as such the court should consider leniency.
Since Buyer was indicted last summer, his two consulting firms have failed, and all of his clients left, resulting in a loss of $2.2 million in income, according to the request. The attorneys also wrote that Buyer and his wife have had to liquidate many of their assets to cover legal costs, including their home, condo, and two cars.
The attorneys also claimed that Buyer’s bank accounts have been frozen or closed, his credit cards have been cancelled, and he will lose his license to practice law in Virginia and Indiana.
Attributing the damage to the indictment and conviction rather than Buyer’s actions, the attorneys claimed that his reputation has been damaged and his record of public service tarnished and will “continue to bring shame and humiliation” to him.
The request for leniency was accompanied by more than 50 letters from friends, family, and colleagues, all vouching for Buyer’s character. Buyer also wrote a letter to the sentencing judge, citing his military service and “life’s work of good deeds” as mitigating factors.
Kingdom Come Festival enters final day
The Kingdom Come Festival, a free, multi-day, Christian rock festival, will feature its final day of entertainment today at the Howard County Vietnam Veterans Organization’s Healing Field, 8313 E, 400 S, on State Road 26.
The festivities kick off at 9:45 a.m., with 27 different bands performing on two stages. Admission and camping are free. The Kingdom Come Festival is Kokomo’s largest annual Christian event and features some of the hottest and rising Christian bands from all over the country.
The Kokomo Lantern visited the festival on June 16 as Christian metal bands Grave Robber and Reclaim the Day performed on the “main” stage and “Redemption” stage simultaneously. Enjoy additional photos and short videos from this event on the Kokomo Lantern’s Facebook page and group as well as at www.kokomolantern.com.
For additional information about the event, visit www.kingdomcomefestival.com.