A federal judge recently ruled that Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors, was appropriately sentenced. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock[/caption]
A federal judge recently rejected an appeal by the leader of failed Wisconsin e-scrap firm 5R Processors, who is currently serving a sentence for tax crimes.
In a June 10 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the sentence of Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors. 5R was a longtime e-scrap processor with sites in Wisconsin and Tennessee, and in 2020 the company's leaders were hit with numerous charges alleging they violated regulations covering the storage and transportation of CRT materials.
Shibilski, a former Wisconsin state senator, had joined the company in 2011 as a financial consultant and later took on an ownership role, according to court documents. He wasn't initially charged along with the other executives and in fact sued his fellow executives shortly after their guilty pleas, claiming he had been duped into investing in the company. But a short time later Shibilski himself was facing similar federal charges stemming from 5R's CRT management and tax avoidance.
Shibilski in 2022 pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay taxes to the IRS. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the CRT storage-related charges. Sentencing "proved to be protracted," the judges noted in the recent appeal decision, because Shibilski objected to various recommendations made by the court in its sentencing guidelines.
To resolve the objections, the judge set a two-day hearing in February 2023 where, despite Shibilski's protestations, a judge sentenced him to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Shibilski to pay $100,000 in cleanup costs for the Wisconsin sites and $100,000 towards a separate cleanup effort at a former 5R site in Tennessee.
Shibilski began serving his sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Duluth, Minnesota. He then appealed the sentence, arguing in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in January that the judge made procedural errors, didn't take into account Shibilski's acceptance of responsibility and prevented his attorney from presenting certain evidence. In a June 10 opinion authored by Chief Judge Diane Sykes, the court rejected Shibilski's appeal, finding that the sentencing judge considered all relevant information and applied an appropriate sentence.
However, the opinion also indicated the sentencing judge was willing to take two months off the sentence, taking into account "retroactive amendments to the sentencing guidelines." And a lawyer for Shibilski submitted a court brief in May, prior to the appeal ruling, noting that "during the pendency of his appeal, he accumulated significant good behavior credits" and was coming up for eligibility for home confinement.
Prison records currently show Shibilski is in a residential reentry management program.
[caption id="attachment_24326" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A federal judge recently ruled that Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors, was appropriately sentenced. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock[/caption]
A federal judge recently rejected an appeal by the leader of failed Wisconsin e-scrap firm 5R Processors, who is currently serving a sentence for tax crimes.
In a June 10 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the sentence of Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors. 5R was a longtime e-scrap processor with sites in Wisconsin and Tennessee, and in 2020 the company's leaders were hit with numerous charges alleging they violated regulations covering the storage and transportation of CRT materials.
Shibilski, a former Wisconsin state senator, had joined the company in 2011 as a financial consultant and later took on an ownership role, according to court documents. He wasn't initially charged along with the other executives and in fact sued his fellow executives shortly after their guilty pleas, claiming he had been duped into investing in the company. But a short time later Shibilski himself was facing similar federal charges stemming from 5R's CRT management and tax avoidance.
Shibilski in 2022 pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay taxes to the IRS. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the CRT storage-related charges. Sentencing "proved to be protracted," the judges noted in the recent appeal decision, because Shibilski objected to various recommendations made by the court in its sentencing guidelines.
To resolve the objections, the judge set a two-day hearing in February 2023 where, despite Shibilski's protestations, a judge sentenced him to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Shibilski to pay $100,000 in cleanup costs for the Wisconsin sites and $100,000 towards a separate cleanup effort at a former 5R site in Tennessee.
Shibilski began serving his sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Duluth, Minnesota. He then appealed the sentence, arguing in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in January that the judge made procedural errors, didn't take into account Shibilski's acceptance of responsibility and prevented his attorney from presenting certain evidence. In a June 10 opinion authored by Chief Judge Diane Sykes, the court rejected Shibilski's appeal, finding that the sentencing judge considered all relevant information and applied an appropriate sentence.
However, the opinion also indicated the sentencing judge was willing to take two months off the sentence, taking into account "retroactive amendments to the sentencing guidelines." And a lawyer for Shibilski submitted a court brief in May, prior to the appeal ruling, noting that "during the pendency of his appeal, he accumulated significant good behavior credits" and was coming up for eligibility for home confinement.
Prison records currently show Shibilski is in a residential reentry management program.
A federal judge recently ruled that Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors, was appropriately sentenced. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock[/caption]
A federal judge recently rejected an appeal by the leader of failed Wisconsin e-scrap firm 5R Processors, who is currently serving a sentence for tax crimes.
In a June 10 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the sentence of Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors. 5R was a longtime e-scrap processor with sites in Wisconsin and Tennessee, and in 2020 the company's leaders were hit with numerous charges alleging they violated regulations covering the storage and transportation of CRT materials.
Shibilski, a former Wisconsin state senator, had joined the company in 2011 as a financial consultant and later took on an ownership role, according to court documents. He wasn't initially charged along with the other executives and in fact sued his fellow executives shortly after their guilty pleas, claiming he had been duped into investing in the company. But a short time later Shibilski himself was facing similar federal charges stemming from 5R's CRT management and tax avoidance.
Shibilski in 2022 pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay taxes to the IRS. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the CRT storage-related charges. Sentencing "proved to be protracted," the judges noted in the recent appeal decision, because Shibilski objected to various recommendations made by the court in its sentencing guidelines.
To resolve the objections, the judge set a two-day hearing in February 2023 where, despite Shibilski's protestations, a judge sentenced him to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Shibilski to pay $100,000 in cleanup costs for the Wisconsin sites and $100,000 towards a separate cleanup effort at a former 5R site in Tennessee.
Shibilski began serving his sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Duluth, Minnesota. He then appealed the sentence, arguing in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in January that the judge made procedural errors, didn't take into account Shibilski's acceptance of responsibility and prevented his attorney from presenting certain evidence. In a June 10 opinion authored by Chief Judge Diane Sykes, the court rejected Shibilski's appeal, finding that the sentencing judge considered all relevant information and applied an appropriate sentence.
However, the opinion also indicated the sentencing judge was willing to take two months off the sentence, taking into account "retroactive amendments to the sentencing guidelines." And a lawyer for Shibilski submitted a court brief in May, prior to the appeal ruling, noting that "during the pendency of his appeal, he accumulated significant good behavior credits" and was coming up for eligibility for home confinement.
Prison records currently show Shibilski is in a residential reentry management program.
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