JUDGE ORDERS HOGANS TO REPAY $598,000 IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, KY FRAUD CASE

WIFE OF MICHAEL HOGAN IS ORDERED BY JUDGE THAT SHE IS ALSO JOINTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR JUST OVER SIXTY-THREE PERCENT (63%) OF THE TOTAL REPAYMENT 

FEBRUARY 8, 2023 – written by WADE QUEEN

THREE-FIFTHS OF A MILLION DOLLARS: FORMER LAWRENCE COUNTY ATTORNEY MICHAEL HOGAN HAS BEEN ORDER BY FEDERAL JUDGE TO PAY BACK JUST UNDER $600,000 IN RESTITUTION TO LAWRENCE COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE & CHILD SUPPORT PROGRAM IN HIS WIRE FRAUD AND THEFT CONSPIRACY CASE,

Former Lawrence County, Kentucky attorney prosecutor Michael T. Hogan has been ordered by a federal judge to pay nearly $600,000 after pleading guilty to both over billing and paying improper bonuses to his wife, Joy Hogan, The Lexington Herald-Leader posted yesterday (Tuesday).

The disgraced Mr. Hogan, the former county attorney in Lawrence County, is liable for $366,550 of that total along with his wife, Joy Hogan, and owes $232,127 by himself, for a total of $598,677.

Mike Hogan and his wife each pleaded guilty last summer 2022 to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Mr. Hogan pleaded guilty to an additional charge of theft from a government program.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced them last September 2022, but he left open the issue of how much money they would have to repay, the newspaper said.

Mike Hogan admitted that as county attorney, he over billed the state for work he did to collect child support, and that his wife received extra checks from delinquent-tax collections his office handled, disguising them as bonuses.

Helping collect child support and delinquent property taxes are among the jobs that county attorneys perform throughout Kentucky, along with several others, including prosecuting misdemeanor crimes and traffic offenses.

In the seven years that Joy Hogan received more than $300,000 in extra pay, the most any other employee working for Mike Hogan received in bonuses was $10,000, an assistant U.S. government prosecutor said in a sentencing memorandum, the newspaper reported.

Employees who worked in both Mike Hogan’s county attorney office, and also his private practice, also estimated to the FBI that nearly all the time he billed for collecting child support was fraudulent.

The Hogans consented to the forfeiture amounts, according to the federal judge’s order.

Michael Hogan is serving a sentence of three years and six months, and his wife Joy is serving 12 months and one day.

Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove entered the restitution order against them last month January 2023, The Herald Leader said.

The $366,550 in the restitution order would go to the Lawrence County Attorney’s Office, and the $232,127 would go to the child-support program.

Michael Hogan served as county attorney in Lawrence County from 2003 until he resigned in early 2022, as part of his guilty plea. Michael Hogan also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the May 2019 Republican primary, along with his governor candidate running mate, former state Kentucky  Representative Robert Goforth, who is also serving a federal prison sentence after he was found guilty in May 2022 to unrelated fraud charges. Mr. Goforth also resigned from being a state representative in August 2021, less than a year after being indicted on charges stemming from a domestic violence case involving his wife

The FBI investigation of Hogan was rooted in a state audit released in May 2020 that identified the improper bonuses.

Kentucky State Auditor Michael Harmon lauded the work of his staff on the case in the Herald-Leader report.

“I can’t say enough about the great job our auditing staff did on the exam of select county attorney offices in 2020, and the cooperation between our office and federal law enforcement that led to guilty pleas and the order to pay back taxpayer dollars,” said Mike Harmon, who himself is currently running as a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor.