Hogan pleads not guilty to federal charges
By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor
LEXINGTON —Lawrence County Attorney Michael Hogan and his wife, Joy Hogan, 41, charged in a June 3 indictment involving wire fraud, federal program theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, both entered not-guilty pleas at their arraignments last week in Lexington.
Their trial is scheduled for Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. before Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove in U.S. District Court in Frankfort.
Michael Hogan, 53, is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and five counts of federal program theft. Joy Hogan, 41, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Michael Hogan was taken into custody June 8, the same day the federal indictment was unsealed, and was transported to the Woodford County Jail.
Michael Hogan, represented by attorney David Cole Jr. of Bowling Green, pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment on June 9 and was released following his arraignment.
As part of his release agreement, he is prohibited from prosecuting cases on behalf of the Lawrence County Attorney’s Office, had to surrender his passport and had travel restricted to the Eastern District of Kentucky. He must seek permission to travel outside that area.
Joy Hogan was served with a summons to appear in court on June 11 for arraignment. She was represented by Mark D. Wohlander and entered a not-guilty plea.
The indictment alleges that the Hogans conspired with each other to commit wire fraud by issuing checks from a second delinquent tax account for the Lawrence County Attorney’s Office, the statements for which went to their personal residence.
“The LCAO collected delinquent taxes that were deposited into a bank account with Louisa Community Bank, now Kentucky Farmer’s Bank, labeled Michael T. Hogan County Attorney Delinquent Tax and ending in 3323,” the indictment said. “For the period prior to June 17, 2015, LCAO used an account t People’s Security Bank, now Citizen’s Bank of Kentucky ending in 6891, labeled Lawrence Co. Attorney Delinquent Tax Escrow.
“The LCAO had a second delinquent tax bank account with Town Square Bank, previously Home Federal Saving & Loan Association, now City National Bank, labeled Lawrence County Attorney Delinquent Tax and ending in 3895, previously an account ending in 5637. Payments from the Lawrence County Clerk’s Office were deposited in this account and bank statements for this account were sent to Hogan’s personal residence.”
Compensation for collecting delinquent taxes for the county could be used only for the payment of the county attorney’s office’s operating expenses, the indictment said.
Such expenses had to be a reasonable amount, beneficial to the public and not predominantly personal to the “officer in the sense that by common understanding and practice they were considered to be personal expenses, nor salary supplementation in excess of statutory limit for employees of the county attorney’s office,” the indictment said.
“Between in or about March 2013 and April 2020, Michael T. Hogan paid his wife, Joy Hogan, hundreds of thousands of dollars from the second LCAO delinquent tax account and disguised the payments as bonuses,” the indictment said.
The Hogans deposited those checks in Joy Hogan’s personal account and the couple’s joint accounts, and they spent the funds on personal expenses, the indictment said.
The indictment alleges that between March 8, 2013, and April 30, 2020, Michael Hogan paid his wife more than $365,000 from the Lawrence County Delinquent Tax Account.
The indictment also alleges that Michael Hogan defrauded the Lawrence County Child Support Enforcement Office, part of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the release said.
“It is alleged Hogan billed the program for far more hours than he actually worked,” the release said. “It is also alleged Michael Hogan paid employees working for his private law firm with funds from the Child Support Enforcement office.”
The Lawrence County Child Support Enforcement Office was an agency within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Hogan, as county attorney, was the contracted attorney for child support enforcement at the LCCSEO.
Hogan was paid $55 per hour for hours spent working for LCCSEO and had to bill for hours spent working on LCCSEO matters, the indictment said.
Beginning in or around July 2017, Hogan had to bill for hours in greater detail, listing hours spent working on administrative work, court or the child support program, the indictment said.
Between July 2015 and June 2020, Hogan billed on average of more than 65 hours per month to LCCSEO, despite working a small fraction of those hours, the indictment said.
When more detail was required on his time sheets, Hogan would bill for work performed by salaried employees of the LCCSEO as if he had performed the work himself, the indictment said. At various times between July 2015 and June 2020, he would pay employees working for his private law firm with LCCSEO funds.
On the wire fraud charges, the Hogans face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of no more than $250,000 or twice the amount of gain or loss.
On the federal program theft charges, Michael Hogan faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $250,000.
Any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.