CLEVELAND, July 10 (UPI) -- A Catholic priest in Ohio who pleaded guilty to banking and tax fraud has asked for the return of $3.5 million now held by the courts.
The money has been held by the U.S. Clerk of the Courts Office in Cleveland since 2010, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Last week, a federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing hearing for the Rev. Samuel Ciccolini.
Ciccolini's plea agreement called for a prison sentence of up to two years. But U.S. District Judge James Gwin, who said he believed monetary loss would be more painful for the priest, instead ordered him to pay $3.5 million to the Interval Brotherhood Home Foundation in Coventry, Ohio, fined him $350,000 and gave him only a day behind bars.
Both Ciccolini's lawyer, Nancy Jamieson, and federal prosecutors appealed. The appeals court ruled last week that Gwin did not have the authority to order the payment to the foundation.
Ciccolini amassed a fortune of $5.5 million while heading the foundation. He admitted embezzling money, although the foundation chose not to prosecute, and repaid $1.28 million.
The charges he admitted to involved making cash deposits in banks that were low enough to evade federal reporting requirements.
Ciccolini, 70, is scheduled to be resentenced next week.
