The former president and treasurer of a labor union in Le Mars who admitted to embezzling money will spend 12 months in federal prison.
Fifty-three-year-old Curtis Lang from Le Mars received the prison term after a May 8th, 2017, guilty plea to one count of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets. At the plea hearing, Lang admitted that from approximately 2005 to 2009 he was the vice president/treasurer of the United Dairy Workers of Le Mars, Iowa, and later, from 2011 through 2014, Lang was the president/treasurer of said union.
Over a period of approximately 10 years, Lang embezzled more than $98,000 in funds from union bank accounts. He used the money to purchase gift cards for himself. Lang acted alone in the embezzlement, and made efforts to hide the crime from other Union officials.
Lang was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark Bennett. Lang was sentenced to one year in prison and was ordered to make $95,223 dollars in restitution to the United Dairy Workers of Le Mars.
Lang must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after getting out of prison including six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. At sentencing, Judge Bennett commented that, “Lang inflicted irreparable harm on the union.” Lang is to surrender to the United States Marshal on a date yet to be set.
(By Dennis J. Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars)