A Valparaiso man
who admitted defrauding a Vermont utility--twice--has been sentenced in
federal court to probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud
and mail fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of
Indiana said.
On Monday, Kevin J.
Babich, 38, was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, with eight of those
months to be served on electronically monitored home detention.
Although each count
to which Babich pleaded is also liable to a fine of up to $250,000, the
judge imposed no fine because--as he put it in the sentencing order--Babich
“is not able and, even with the use of a reasonable installment schedule, is
not likely to become able to pay all or part of a fine recommended by the
sentencing guidelines.”
Babich, in the plea
agreement, specifically admitted to the following:
* He entered into a
$680,000 contract with Vermont Transco (VELCO), under which Babich’s
company, Utility Communications, was to perform work on VELCO’s
communications tower. Then--because he was “having significant financial
problems”--he used a portion of the $680,000 “to pay personal bills and
other obligations that had nothing to do with the contract terms.”
* And, when VELCO
“became impatient when the promised work” was not completed to its
satisfaction and decided to hire a new company not affiliated with Utility
Communications, Babich referred VELCO to Digicom of Portage, of which he was
in fact sole owner but whose ownership he concealed from VELCO. A portion of
the moneys which VELCO subsequently paid to Digicom--in the belief that
Digicom was an “independent company”--Babich also used for his “personal
benefit.”