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Former congressional staffer Michael Ian Sohn was sentenced to 37 months in prison Tuesday afternoon. The Fairfield resident and campaign manager for former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays pleaded guilty in March to charges of embezzlement and tax evasion.
"The sentence imposed today is appropriate as this defendant, for four years, violated the trust of a U.S. congressman, campaign co-workers and every contributor to the campaign," Donald Fein, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said in a statement.
Sohn, who must surrender Nov. 30, also was ordered to pay restitution of $252,424 to Shays' campaign and to pay $95,955 to the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes owed.
Sohn, 34, served as campaign manager for Shays' re-election bids from 2003 to 2008, when Shays lost to Jim Himes, a Greenwich Democrat. Sohn admitted to taking $252,424.10 from the campaign treasury over that time by forging checks to himself and using its ATM card to make cash withdrawals and debit card purchases. IRS investigators also found that Sohn had misreported his legitimate income from 2005 to 2008. He admitted to failing to report $527,136 on his tax returns. As a result, he owes the federal government $95, 955.
Sohn pleaded guilty to both charges March 10. U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz handed down the prison sentence and restitution order Tuesday afternoon in New Haven. Kravitz recommended that Sohn be allowed to participate in a 500-hour drug rehabilitation program. Sohn would be eligible for a one-year reduction off his sentence if the Bureau of Prisons accepts him into the program and he completes it.
According to published reports, Sohn said at his sentencing, "I am profoundly apologetic, ashamed. I am deeply sorry to Congressman Shays, his staffers, donors and supporters."
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