County prosecutors are expected to ask a judge to sentence a former county employee who embezzled nearly $7 million from the county to 12 years in jail.
Byung Il “Peter” Bang, who worked for the county for 20 years pleaded guilty last year to embezzling nearly $7 million while he was chief operating officer of the former county department of economic development, is scheduled to be sentenced this afternoon in county Circuit Court.
Bang, 59, of Germantown, was ordered to serve four years in federal prison on Feb. 22 following his guilty plea in November to federal wire and tax fraud charges. He was also ordered to pay $6.7 million in restitution to Montgomery County and $2.3 million to the IRS.
Bang also pleaded guilty in November in Circuit Court to charges of a theft scheme of more than $10,000 and misconduct in office.
A spokesman for the county state’s attorney said prosecutors would “likely be asking for something along the order” of 12 years.
During his federal sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis had asked that Bang’s state sentence be served concurrently.
Bang’s guilty pleas came more than a year after authorities began investigating him for the embezzlement, which took place between 2010 and 2016 when he was second-in-command at the economic development department.
Bang transferred funds into four South Korean bank accounts that contained his home address, under the guise that the money would be used to helped build an incubator space for businesses in South Korea’s Chungcheongbuk-Do province, according to prosecutors.
Bang used the money to feed a gambling addiction, prosecutors said.The IRS tracked his use of the money through a series of cashier’s checks used at casinos in three states, and federal authorities began investigating him in April 2017.
Bang was fired from county government on June 12, 2017, and the county said it is taking steps for greater oversight over financial accounts.
This story will be updated
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
