Former Feinstein Campaign Treasurer Gets 8 Years In Prison For Fraud
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- A judge has sentenced a former Democratic campaign treasurer to eight years in federal prison for defrauding high-profile clients, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, of at least $7 million.
Kinde Durkee was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. She pleaded guilty in March to five counts of mail fraud.
Feinstein has said she lost about $4.5 million in the scam involving Durkee that also targeted several state lawmakers and nonprofit political groups.
An attorney for the 59-year-old Durkee said in a pre-sentence report that she was incapable of managing her business partly because of her fear of conflict, which led her to let bills go unpaid and refuse to fire incompetent staff.
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