“Living the Dream” is waking up to reality as Larry Webb, former deputy director at Upper Cumberland Development District, entered a guilty plea to one count of federal bank fraud Monday and has agreed to testify against his former boss, Wendy Askins. Webb was facing a potential 220 years in federal prison and $6.75 million in fines. He, alongside the former director of UCDD, was charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy, theft of government money, bank fraud, money laundering, and making a false statement.According to court documents, ”The parties understand and agree the offense to which defendant (Webb) will enter a plea of guilty (bank fraud) carries the following maximum penalties: (a) a maximum term of 30 years imprisonment; (b) a fine not to exceed $1,000,000; (c) a term of supervised release of not more than five years; and (d) a mandatory special assessment of $100 to be deposited into the Crime Victim Fund."The project that was called Living the Dream, intended to become a home for needy seniors and allegedly became Askins’ personal residence, turned into a nightmare for the duo in 2013 when the federal indictments were issued asserting they diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars of agency money into the luxury home in Putnam County.While Webb’s attorney Ed Yarbrough said he never profited from the scheme, Webb admitted he was guilty of Count Eight of the federal indictment, which accused him and Askins of securing a $250,000 loan from the Bank of Putnam County “for their own use and benefit” and “falsely representing” that it was for a project that had been approved by the UCDD board of directors.”In pleading guilty, court documents state that defendant (Webb) admits the following facts and that those facts establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt:“On Feb. 23, 2010, Defendant Webb incorporated “Living the Dream/Independent Living for Seniors, Inc.”
Former UCDD deputy director pleads guilty to federal bank fraud
Webb will testify against Askins