Former Kentucky court official headed to prison in connection with $435,000 in thefts

A former Kentucky court official has been sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison in connection with stealing $435,010 from financial accounts.

One victim of the thefts was an elderly widow left “overwhelmed with anxiety about her finances” after the thefts by John Anthony Schmidt, according to a court document.

Schmidt, 67, an attorney, was master commissioner of Bullitt County from the early 1990s until a judge removed him from the job in 2019.

He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bank fraud.

The accounts at issue in his federal criminal case were two trusts he oversaw as court-appointed trustee, which involves helping manage the assets of the trust.

Schmidt took money from the accounts for personal expenditures or to pay other clients he had represented, and in some cases to make up for deficits in the master commissioner’s account, according to the court record.

Master commissioners help with matters such as court-ordered property sales.

The beneficiary of one trust Schmidt stole nearly $200,000 from was an elderly widow. After she died, the trust was to benefit her son, but he had to delay his retirement because Schmidt depleted the assets, according to a court document.

Schmidt paid $127,000 back into the account after the thefts were discovered, and has been ordered to make additional restitution, according to court documents.

Schmidt’s attorney, Rob Eggert, said in a sentencing memorandum that Schmidt was stretched thin financially and suffered from deep depression.

“Mr. Schmidt’s bad conduct was motivated by depression and stress, and he has learned his lesson and found the tools to ensure this will never happen again,” Eggert said.

U.S. District Judge David J. Hale sentenced Schmidt Monday in federal court in Louisville.