JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud involving federal COVID-19 relief funds. Prosecutors said Diehl improperly used pandemic aid intended to help struggling businesses to pay personal expenses and benefit his law firm.
Diehl, a Republican attorney from the St. Louis area, received roughly $380,000 in federal loans between 2020 and 2022 through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program designed to support businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. According to court filings, he misrepresented how the funds would be used and later diverted much of the money away from legitimate business expenses.
Federal prosecutors said Diehl used the funds to pay for country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, his home mortgage, and vehicle payments for a Tesla, Audi, and Jeep. More than half the money also went toward funding a defined benefit retirement plan for his law firm in which he was the sole participant.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Diehl to pay a $50,000 fine. His attorneys had asked the court to avoid incarceration, noting he repaid the loan funds to the Small Business Administration. Prosecutors argued repayment did not justify leniency, writing that Diehl “knew better than to engage in the charged fraud scheme.”
Diehl previously resigned as House speaker in 2015 following a scandal involving sexually suggestive text messages with a legislative intern.
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