Winter Woman
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Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in prison for concealing assets and fooling a bank in the short sale of a Detroit-area home that freed her from a big debt.
Hathaway appeared in federal court, four months after pleading guilty to fraud and quitting the Supreme Court, where she had been a justice since 2009.
"I stand before you a broken person," said Hathaway, 59, crying as she addressed U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara. "I am ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated and disgraced."
The fraud charge wasn't related to her work at the court, but authorities said Hathaway's expertise in real estate and law was a factor in the scheme.
"We do not ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on who she is," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Lemisch said, noting her successful career as a judge and prosecutor. "We ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on what she did."
In short sales, banks let distressed owners sell properties for less than what's owed on them, providing a significant benefit to borrowers who can't afford to keep paying the mortgage but want to avoid foreclosure.
The 2011 sale on Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000. Prosecutors said she pleaded hardship while still possessing more than $1 million in assets, including a debt-free home in Windermere, Fla.
Hathaway and husband Michael Kingsley put the Florida home in a relative's name while dealing with ING Bank, then got the property back in their names in 2012.
The government recommended a sentence of a year to 18 months in prison, while Hathaway asked for probation and community service The 366-day sentence will allow Hathaway to get time off for good behavior, meaning her actual time in custody likely will be nine to 10 months. The judge didn't elaborate on why he chose that punishment, saying only, "I have thought a great deal about this."
Defense attorney Steve Fishman said Hathaway's name and reputation have a "permanent stain."
"Is that enough? I say it's enough," he told O'Meara as he sought to keep her out of prison.
Fishman filed documents to show that ING would have approved the short sale even without Hathaway's scheme. Although she had escaped from a $664,000 balance on the mortgage, Hathaway only will be required to pay $90,000 as restitution because the bank greatly marked down the value of the loan under weak market conditions in the Detroit area.
Fishman said Hathaway would immediately submit a check for that amount. Hathaway declined to comment outside court.
Gov. Rick Snyder appointed David Viviano to replace Hathaway on the Supreme Court, extended the Republican majority to 5-2.
Hathaway appeared in federal court, four months after pleading guilty to fraud and quitting the Supreme Court, where she had been a justice since 2009.
"I stand before you a broken person," said Hathaway, 59, crying as she addressed U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara. "I am ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated and disgraced."
The fraud charge wasn't related to her work at the court, but authorities said Hathaway's expertise in real estate and law was a factor in the scheme.
"We do not ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on who she is," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Lemisch said, noting her successful career as a judge and prosecutor. "We ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on what she did."
In short sales, banks let distressed owners sell properties for less than what's owed on them, providing a significant benefit to borrowers who can't afford to keep paying the mortgage but want to avoid foreclosure.
The 2011 sale on Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000. Prosecutors said she pleaded hardship while still possessing more than $1 million in assets, including a debt-free home in Windermere, Fla.
Hathaway and husband Michael Kingsley put the Florida home in a relative's name while dealing with ING Bank, then got the property back in their names in 2012.
The government recommended a sentence of a year to 18 months in prison, while Hathaway asked for probation and community service The 366-day sentence will allow Hathaway to get time off for good behavior, meaning her actual time in custody likely will be nine to 10 months. The judge didn't elaborate on why he chose that punishment, saying only, "I have thought a great deal about this."
Defense attorney Steve Fishman said Hathaway's name and reputation have a "permanent stain."
"Is that enough? I say it's enough," he told O'Meara as he sought to keep her out of prison.
Fishman filed documents to show that ING would have approved the short sale even without Hathaway's scheme. Although she had escaped from a $664,000 balance on the mortgage, Hathaway only will be required to pay $90,000 as restitution because the bank greatly marked down the value of the loan under weak market conditions in the Detroit area.
Fishman said Hathaway would immediately submit a check for that amount. Hathaway declined to comment outside court.
Gov. Rick Snyder appointed David Viviano to replace Hathaway on the Supreme Court, extended the Republican majority to 5-2.
