Former Chattanooga auto dealership mogul Joseph Prebul received a one-year prison term this afternoon from a New York federal judge.
Mr. Prebul must report on May 6 to serve his prison time. It is not yet known in which federal prison he will have to serve out his punishment.
Mr. Prebul pleaded guilty last November to misdemeanor bank larceny, despite being originally charged with 11 counts of felony wire fraud in connection with his alleged scheme to defraud his millionaire brother-in-law.
The deal allowed him to avoid becoming a convicted felon, but he also must forfeit approximately $6.8 million, the amount of his brother-in-law's money he allegedly misappropriated for personal expenses when he had promised the funds would be invested in a high-interest bearing bank account.
Prosecutors had argued for a year of incarceration, the maximum penalty for the misdemeanor to which he pled, still arguing that Mr. Prebul's action had been dishonest and "egregious."
The hearing today marked the end of the businessman's criminal legal troubles. In the months since being arrested in February 2009, he has filed for both personal bankruptcy and the bankruptcy of each of the several car dealerships he used to own in Chattanooga and North Georgia.
For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.