A former Kansas state legislator was sentenced Monday to 1.5 years in federal prison for defrauding Farmers and Merchants Bank of Colby, Kan., of more than $460,000, some of which he deposited in his campaign account, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. He also was ordered to pay $461,000 in restitution.
Trent K. LeDoux, 40, Holton, Kan., a former Republican state representative from the 50th District from 2011 to 2013, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.
In his plea, he admitted he applied for three loans from the bank, falsely representing that he was going to use all the funds to buy cattle that would serve as the collateral for the loans. In fact, he used some of the money to pay off existing debts and to make contributions to his political campaign account, the U.S. attorney’s office stated.
Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway for their work on the case.