Moede sentenced to prison, parole

By Laura London
Posted 2/28/18

WHEATLAND — Don Moede, former Platte County Rural Fire District 1F Board member, was sentenced Feb. 20 to two to five years in prison, with four to six more years suspended to run concurrently with the prison time and seven years’ probation for embezzling $236,707 from the fire district over the last four years he served in office.

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Moede sentenced to prison, parole

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WHEATLAND — Don Moede, former Platte County Rural Fire District 1F Board member, was sentenced Feb. 20 to two to five years in prison, with four to six more years suspended to run concurrently with the prison time and seven years’ probation for embezzling $236,707 from the fire district over the last four years he served in office.
8th Judicial District Judge F. Scott Peasley also ordered Moede to pay restitution, as well as acknowledged restitution had already been paid.
According to earlier reports, Moede pleaded guilty to eight counts of larceny and theft at his arraignment Nov. 6, 2017, in Platte County District Court after being indicted on 81 counts in August. He also provided restitution at that time in the amount of $236,707.57, the full amount he embezzled.
Prosecuting Attorney Doug Weaver said during last week’s sentencing that Moede was elected to the fire board in 1994. When Moede lost re-election in November 2016, then quit two days later rather than finish his tenure, Weaver said the rest of the fire board started examining the fire district’s financial records.
Weaver said of the eight amended charges against Moede, the four committed after July 1, 2013, are felonies. He said Moede used fire district money to transfer payments to his own credit card accounts, as well as issued himself personal checks from the fire district’s account.
“Today is difficult for me personally and professionally,” Weaver said, adding he had known Moede for many years as a good person who was active in the community. “We’re here today because Mr. Moede had another side to him.”
Weaver said although Moede had made restitution, it does not negate his crimes. Weaver said Moede breached taxpayers’ trust, as well as took advantage of the voters and other fire board members.
Weaver called Keith Ockingay, who has served on the Platte County Rural Fire District 1F Board since 2007, to give a statement. Ockingay said Moede was able to steal the money because the other members of the board trusted Moede. Moede became the fire district’s president, secretary and treasurer.
“At meetings we brought it up that this was not OK,” Ockingay said.
Ockingay said the board voted to appoint three different people to the key positions, including Ockingay as treasurer, but Moede never surrendered the responsibilities.
“Nothing was ever handed to me,” Ockingay said. “We should have pressured him into that.”

Ockingay said the district would be low on funds only six or eight months into the budget cycle, and the district would have to spend its reserve fund.
“Because Donny was taking money, we couldn’t meet the firemen’s needs,” Ockingay said, “all the time not realizing why we couldn’t.”
Ockingay said Moede also did the district’s filings with state agencies. He said when Moede left, the rest of the board discovered some filings were three years behind, and others six or seven.
Ockingay said since Moede left, the board has three different people serving as president, secretary and treasurer, and it “works like a well-oiled machine.”
“We had no idea he was doing all that to hide stealing,” Ockingay said.
Ockingay said Moede stopped stealing because he lost election to the fire district board. Rather than serve out his tenure, which ended in January 2017, Ockingay said Moede threw his keys on the table two days after he lost in November 2016.
“I don’t know, if he had won the election, if he would still be taking money today,” Ockingay said.
Moede’s attorney Cole Sherard, of the local firm Sherard, Sherard, Artery & Johnson, said it was a difficult case and a tough situation. Sherard acknowledged the seriousness of the crime as Moede had been an elected official, but said he thought there was grounds for probation in the case. Sherard said on probation, Moede could speak to other boards about the importance of following the law.
Sherard called fellow attorney Brian Artery to give testimony. Artery said people on boards are volunteers and don’t always know the law. He said information is not immediately available for districts. Artery said the Wyoming Department of Audit has a handbook available for boards, but offers no trainings.
Sherard explained Artery’s testimony was for background information.
“Every two or three months I hear about somebody on a board who’s been caught stealing,” Sherard said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of education in this area.”
Sherard said somebody like Moede giving talks to boards across the state could be impactful. He said it was rare to have a client plead guilty at the arraignment, and rarer yet for a client to pay full restitution of what they stole, as Moede has done. Sherard said the embezzlement does not define who Moede is as a person.
Sherard gave a PowerPoint presentation of Moede’s background of work and volunteer activities, which are extensive. Moede coached his children’s sports teams, was a bowling league officer, was active in his church and more. The presentation included several letters of support for leniency from local people.
Sherard said he’d asked Moede why he embezzled the money, and Moede had said he had felt a sense of entitlement after he’d volunteered so many hours for the district.
Sherard asked the court to give Moede 10 years’ probation. He noted Moede has already suffered many consequences, including having lost his job at Basin Electric.
When it was Moede’s turn to speak, he told the court he had no excuse for what he did and he sincerely apologized. He said it had been his privilege to serve the public, but he broke the public’s trust and that was the worst mistake of his life.
“And to my wife of 27 years, I apologize,” Moede said. “The pain and suffering I caused you is inexcusable.”
Judge Peasley said a long prison sentence was not appropriate for Moede, but straight probation was also not appropriate. The judge acknowledged Moede’s immediate payment of restitution, his history of helping other people in the community and his lack of any criminal history. However, the fact that Moede stole the money over a period of years was “troubling to the court” and his crime affects the fire district he once served.
“The community in general will suffer for what you did,” Peasley said.
On charges 1-3, the judge ordered Moede to serve two to five years in prison, concurrently, for each charge. For charges 4-8, the felonies that happened after July 1, 2013, the judge ordered suspended sentences of four to six years for each charge, to run concurrently with the sentence for the first three charges, and seven years’ probation.
Peasley said fines were inappropriate since Moede had already paid the restitution in full.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Peasley remanded Moede to the custody of a Platte County Sheriff’s Deputy to begin serving his sentence.