Carter was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his involvement in Dynus taking out $6.5 million in loans in Butler County’s name without county approval. According to court testimony, Carter obtained the loans with the help of the county auditor and other officials, including Lang.
“As much as I would like to respond publicly, my attorneys have instructed me not to and I’m going to follow their advice,” Lang told the Hamilton JournalNews in a phone interview from his home.
His attorney, Dan Warncke, said Lang is eager for the matter to come to trial, where he is confident he will be vindicated.
“When he was issued a court order to appear to testify in court last summer, Mr. Lang appeared at that trial and testified truthfully,” Warncke said, adding that Lang has been cooperating and open since he was first contacted by the FBI more than five years ago.
Lang, 45, faces up to a five-year penalty for perjury, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
During Carter’s trial, former Dynus president Jim Smith testified that Lang gave him a $100,000 kickback payment after the trustee’s agency was paid $360,000 in a lobbying contract. According to court testimony, Lang’s agency was paid to introduce Dynus officials to county officials in an effort to help the company obtain a contract to use the county’s fiber optics network to create a phone, Internet and video company.
Lang, who is the majority partner in Performance Benefits Solution and the Lang Agency, perjured himself when he testified that he did not know that Smith was an employee of Dynus, and stated Smith was an “independent contractor” in 2004, according to the indictment. At the time, Smith was the company’s marketing director.
Smith pleaded guilty to bank fraud for his role in the Dynus scheme.
Lang is a two-term trustee who is up for re-election this November.
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