Editor's note: See correction at end of article.A former adherent of the Amish faith and his attorney begged the judge for mercy this morning before receiving a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Levi Stoltzfoos, 39 — convicted of 58 first-degree felonies in May for avoiding bank reporting requirements — said he did not do it on purpose.
Stoltzfoos, of Leola, made 58 cash deposits that totaled $541,100 at 10 Lancaster County banks in 2006. Most of the deposits were in sums of $9,000 and $9,900, according to testimony.
The Bank Secrecy Act — which requires bank tellers to record on a special form any cash deposit or withdrawal of more than $10,000 — is meant to prevent money laundering, tax evasion or using money for other criminal purposes.
"I'm sorry," said Stoltzfoos, who wore a blue-and-black checkered shirt and blue khaki pants, crossed his arms and began to stutter when he read from a prepared statement.
Emotional and unable to continue, his attorney, Jeff Conrad, read the statement for him.
"I did not mean or intend to commit a crime," Conrad read. "I've always mistrusted the government."
Stoltzfoos' statement also says, "I'm not a terrorist, drug dealer or gang member. I worked hard and paid my taxes.
"I can't believe still this is happening. I beg your mercy. Please don't send me to prison."
Lancaster County Judge Howard F. Knisely sentenced Stoltzfoos on the first two counts of the 58 convictions to one to five years consecutively.
For the other 56 counts, he was sentenced to one to five years concurrently.
At most, he could serve up to 15 years in prison.
Before announcing the sentences, Knisely said he considered Stoltzfoos' long history of steady employment, as well as his extensive criminal record.
Between 1992 and 2004, Stoltzfoos was convicted of retail theft, criminal mischief, assault and resisting arrest.
In regards to Stoltzfoos' bank deposits, Knisely said, "He knew that what he was doing was wrong and that there were consequences."
Knisely asked the defendant a moral question before announcing the sentences.
"If I borrowed $50,000 from a man over there, and I never intended to pay it back to him, is it his money or is it my money?" Knisely asked.
Stoltzfoos struggled with the question and asked the judge to repeat it. In the end, he answered that he believed it was the judge's money, but that the other person could sue, but he also wasn't really sure.
Throughout Stoltzfoos' trial, as part of his defense, Conrad spoke of Stoltzfoos' simple Amish upbringing and eighth-grade education as evidence of his character.
But Knisely was unconvinced.
"I find that to be a slap in the face to all good, law-abiding Amish people of Lancaster County," Knisely said.
He also did not believe that Stoltzfoos was a "simple man," as the defense had claimed. Instead, he said Stoltzfoos was "a scheming individual."
Before the judge was to deliver a sentence, it was called into question whether Stoltzfoos did in fact obtain the money illegally.
Tax records were brought into evidence. Conrad said they show that Stoltzfoos reported his income and paid his taxes.
But state Deputy Attorney General Stevan Portman provided the judge this morning with a laundry list of items investigators found at Stoltzfoos' home.
Portman told Knisely that Stoltzfoos had dozens of complimentary movie tickets, rain check movie tickets, check cards, video rental store cards, savings club cards and a credit card protection agency card.
He also has a New York driver's license.
Stoltzfoos had more than 3,000 movies and CDs still in cellophane wrappers. And, he had numerous store credit cards, given to him for items returned with no receipt.
They total $8,261.
During their investigation before Stoltzfoos' trial, agents from the state Attorney General's Office seized the Leola man's funds and raided his parents' home.
At trial, defense attorney Conrad argued that Stoltzfoos distrusted the government with his money, but didn't make the deposits with a "criminal mind."
Prosecutors countered that Stoltzfoos made the deposits knowing he was avoiding Currency Transaction Reports.
The charges against Stoltzfoos were limited to how he deposited the money.
How and where he got his money was not an issue at his trial.
After the verdict, Conrad questioned the Bank Secrecy Act, which he said was modified in 2002.
Originally, a person could face charges only if there was proof the deposits were obtained illegally, Conrad said.
The modification in 2002 allowed charges to be filed without evidence of illegal conduct, he said.
In a handwritten lawsuit he filed seeking $100 billion in damages from the state, Stoltzfoos says the law is unfair.
"I was charged with 58 (felony counts) and face losing my life savings, over a million dollars in fines and over 1,000 years in jail all because I did not know a law," the suit states.
His suit contends that the government does not provide bank customers enough information that structuring payments to avoid reporting requirements is illegal.
Stoltzfoos says he didn't want the government — or anyone — to know how much money he deposits or withdraws.
"It's ... not a guilty act to try to protect yourself from getting robbed," the suit claims.
Staff writer Robyn Meadows can be reached at rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025.
This story incorrectly reported the length of a prison sentence for Levi Stoltzfoos. He could serve between two and 10 years. The New Era regrets the error.
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