Tuesday's scheduled sentencing of James Wehmhoff, the accountant who helped Tom Petters file false tax returns, has been postponed until sometime in October. The postponement was ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle at his own behest.
Wehmhoff faces a prison sentence of between 70 and 80 months on tax charges, but federal prosecutors have asked Kyle to consider Wehmhoff's cooperation in the Petters investigation and his previously "unblemished" career before he hooked up with Petters Group Worldwide. The government also noted that Wehmhoff was not part of the $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme that Petters and others orchestrated for more than 10 years.
Wehmhoff's attorney, Andrew Luger, has asked for a sentence of home confinement because of the 69-year-old's "precarious health and need for ongoing rehabilitation services." Wehmhoff has had two back surgeries, respiratory failure, a torn ligament in a knee and a pulmonary embolism.
DAVID PHELPS
