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May 7, 2010

Centerville businessman sentenced to one year probation and a $100,000 fine in food stamp fraud case

DES MOINES — On May 6, Kris Erhardt Koestner, of Centerville, was sentenced to a term of one year probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine for tampering with a witness, announced United States Attorney, Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.  Chief United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt also directed that Koestner undergo a mental health evaluation and pay $100 to the Crime Victim Fund.

Koestner was indicted for food stamp fraud and witness tampering arising from his Centerville grocery store, J&K Market. Koestner pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness on Jan. 11.  Koestner admitted instructing a witness in the federal investigation that if he was interviewed, he was to tell law enforcement that he (the witness) only purchased food items at J&K Market.

This case was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, and the Centerville, Iowa Police Department.

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The Iowegian wants readers to think about the debate Rep. Larry Sheets talks about at the state capital centered on "accepting Medicaid expansion as defined by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), or choosing to create an Iowa specific health care program. Those who prefer the Medicaid expansion believe the federal government will fulfill its commitments three years from now. Those opposing explain that the federal government is only capable of that by borrowing the money from the Chinese." So, the question this week is, "Should Iowa accept the federal government's Medicaid expansion or create a health care program specific to the state?"

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