Florida ex-mayor gets 4+ years in prison for charity fraud

The former mayor of a Florida city has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for defrauding a United Way charity while he ran the organization.

U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe said in a news release Friday that ex-Milton mayor Guyland Thompson pleaded guilty in May to 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion stemming from his embezzlement of funds from United Way of Santa Rosa County.

Thompson was the charity’s executive director. Keefe said Thompson embezzled over $650,000 from the United Way between 2011 and 2018. United Way of Santa Rosa County was forced to close because of the fraud.

Thompson also was ordered by a Pensacola federal judge to forfeit nearly $222,000 seized from his bank accounts and pay an additional money judgment of over $430,000. A restitution amount will be decided later.