Government: Landis still owes $6 million+ and violated probation condition, no early release

The federal government  and the federal Probation Office have signaled their opposition to Joplin businessman Bobby Landis' request to have his probation end a year early.

In a response filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Assistant U. S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich noted that Landis still owes more than six million dollars in restitution and violated a term of his probation that prohibits his opening a new line of credit.

The response also points out that Landis, while serving two years in prison "conducted business with another inmate having a history of fraud, and requested permission to continue this business arrangement while on supervised release."

Landis was sentenced to three years in prison on January 27, 2012 after pleading guilty to not paying federal payroll taxes at his business Priority Personnel of Missouri. He was released from prison on December 24, 2014.

Landis is on supervised probation for three years.

Mohlhenrich's response is printed below:

The Government concurs with the recommendation of the Probation Office that the Court should deny the request.

As noted, while in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons he conducted business with another inmate having a history of fraud, and requested permission to continue this business arrangement while on supervised release.

Further, Mr. Landis violated his conditions of supervision by opening a new line of credit, and. Finally, while he has maintained employment and made regular restitution payments to the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Landis has only paid approximately $5,749.59 in restitution, and has an outstanding balance of $6,258,478.41.

While Mr. Landis may not require the intensive supervision that some other former offenders need, the Government respectfully submits that all conditions of supervision relating to financial responsibility should remain in effect for his full three-year term of supervised release. Consequently, the Government opposes the instant request for early termination of supervision.

Conclusion- For the reasons set forth above, the United States respectfully recommends that the Court deny defendant Robert W. Landis’s request for early termination of his term of supervised release.