MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Alabama House Rep. Fred Plump was sentenced Friday to one year and a day in prison on charges related to a kickback scheme. His alleged co-conspirator, former Rep. John Rogers, now faces prison time for potentially breaching a plea agreement.
Plump, a former Democratic lawmaker representing part of Jefferson County, was indicted on conspiracy and obstruction charges last year stemming from a scheme in which he diverted tax dollars from the Birmingham-based Piper Davis Youth Baseball League, a nonprofit organization on which he served as executive director.
Plump had only served a few months in his first term when the indictment was announced, after which he agreed to step down from office.
Plump’s attorney, Richard Jaffe, told Alabama Daily News Friday that Plump did not personally profit from the scheme, and that he was thankful for the sentence imposed on his client.
“We appreciate the government and Judge (L. Scott) Coogler recognizing (that Plump) did not personally profit from this arrangement, but he knew that the money going to his co-defendants was illegal,” Jaffe told ADN.
“He looks forward to soon rejoining his family and continuing to help many more disadvantaged youth, in addition to the 14,000 to 15,000 he has already helped through the Piper Davis baseball program.”
Jaffe added that the additional day to the year-long prison sentence will allow Plump to have 54 days shaved off his sentence before going to a halfway house.
Rogers was indicted last year on obstruction charges, and again earlier this year on money laundering and wire fraud charges.
In the indictment, prosecutors say Rogers diverted $400,000 between 2018 and 2022 to Piper Davis Youth Baseball League, and in return, he and his assistant, Varrie Kindall, were given roughly $200,000 as a kickback.
Rogers had reached an agreement with prosecutors in which, in exchange for acknowledging his role in the kickback scheme, he would be sentenced to 14 months on house arrest and pay the courts nearly $400,000 in forfeiture fees and restitution.
A recent filing by his legal team that asserted Rogers’ innocence in some of the claims levied against him, however, led the court this week to schedule a hearing to determine whether that filing constituted a breach of his plea agreement.
While Rogers submitted that he was “not even aware that defense counsel had filed” the filing according to court records, Rogers could potentially face 14 months in prison were the court to ultimately rule he had indeed breached his plea agreement.
A sentencing hearing for Rogers is scheduled for Tuesday. Plump has been ordered to report to prison within 30 days, and according to his attorney, will likely serve his time at a minimum security federal prison.