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Ex-West Virginia Cabinet Chief Sentenced For Embezzlement
By: Associated Press
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) – A former cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance has been sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison for embezzling from a volunteer fire department where he handled financial affairs.
Sixty-four-year-old Clifford Keith Gwinn of Hurricane was sentenced Monday in federal court in Huntington.
Gwinn admitted embezzling nearly $179,000 from the Teays Valley Volunteer Fire Department. He also pleaded guilty to a tax crime. He agreed to pay restitution to the fire department and its insurer along with more than $68,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Gwinn was veterans assistance secretary from 2011 to 2013. He also was vice president and fiscal officer of the fire department.
Gwinn’s wife, 52-year-old Kathy Sue Gwinn, was sentenced previously for embezzling $75,000 from the fire department.