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‘Plain error’ reduces sentence for former real estate mogul Kelly Gearhart

Posted at 2:51 PM, Jul 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-09 17:51:20-04

Former real estate mogul Kelly Gearhart will spend less time behind bars for fraud and money laundering.

The now 57-year-old was in federal court last month where his sentence was reduced from 14 to 9 years, according to court records.

The U.S. Department of Justice says the change stems from an error made during Gearhart’s original sentencing in 2015.

“It was plain error for the district court to impose a 168-month sentence concurrently on counts 13, 14, and 15 because the maximum sentence for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (count 15) is 120 months,” records show.

The new sentence reportedly reflects what is within the “allowable range” for money laundering and comes after Gearhart appealed his original sentence.

Hundreds of people on the Central Coast lost millions to Gearhart, who pleaded guilty.

He is serving his time at FCI Morgantown in West Virginia and has a scheduled release date of March 2, 2023.