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A former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper was sentenced Monday to 50 months in prison for fraud and witness tampering.


Benjamin W. Richardson, 47, of Powell, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13 to
one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud,
two counts of making false statements and false oaths in bankruptcy and
one count of witness tampering.
He was accused in a scheme to prevent a narcotics trafficker from talking with law enforcement during the investigation.


He was sentenced to 50 months and three years of supervised release
on each of the eight counts. U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost
ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
He was also ordered to pay restitution of $617,600 to lenders he deceived through the mortgage fraud.


Richardson was part of a conspiracy to defraud lending institutions
by misleading mortgage lenders in the buying and selling of investment
properties and the refinancing of his own home. Richardson and other
co-conspirators used false statements to conceal from lenders that
Richardson intended to receive large sums of money out of the loan
proceeds after closing. Richardson also admitted to falsely
under-reporting his income when he filed for bankruptcy in 2007 by not
disclosing income he received from a nightclub he owned with a narcotics
trafficker.
FBI agents arrested Richardson on September 6, 2011. He has been in
custody since his arrest. Richardson was a trooper with the Ohio State
Highway Patrol when he was charged and resigned when the charges were
returned