Imprisoned Fraudster Wins Release After Raising Virus Concerns

A 75-year old man serving a nearly six-year sentence for contract fraud will be released from his North Carolina prison that experienced a Covid-19 outbreak, a Virginia federal court said.

A jury in 2017 convicted William R. Whyte for providing the government with trucks to use in Iraq that lacked adequate armor.

Whyte is entitled to a “compassionate release” with his sentence being reduced to time served, but his restitution obligation and term of supervised release for three years is unchanged, Judge Jackson L. Kiser of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia said Wednesday.

Whyte will be released no later than May 29 at 5:00 p.m. and must self-isolate for a period of 14 days upon release, the court said.

He argued May 4 that he should be released from prison because he has less than two years remaining on his sentence and has a compromised immune system as a cancer survivor.

The government opposed his release, asserting that Whyte is a danger to the community because he committed a serious offense.

Whyte intentionally and repeatedly put the lives of American soldiers at risk for his personal profit, repeatedly lied to the U.S. government, and lied to the court, the government said.

Lisa Marie Lorish, Assistant Federal Public Defender, represented Whyte.

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The case is United States v. Whyte, W.D. Va., No. 12-cr-21, 5/27/20.