MONTGOMERY, Ala. (EETV) – On Thursday, February 15, 2018, former State Representative Micky Ray Hammon, 60, of Decatur, Alabama, received a sentence of three months’ imprisonment for committing mail fraud, announced United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. Hammon served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2003 until 2017, when he entered his guilty plea. During his service, Hammon represented the fourth district. From 2010 to 2017, Hammon served as the chamber’s majority leader. Hammon will be subject to three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence.
According to court documents, Hammon used money donated to his 2014 reelection campaign to pay personal expenses. This is a violation of Alabama law, which strictly limits the ways that donated money can be used. Hammon used the United States Postal Service to commit his offense when he received campaign donation checks through the mail. All of the donors reasonably expected that the campaign would use the money for legal purposes.
“The victims of Hammon’s offense were not only the donors to his campaign, but all Alabama voters,” stated United States Attorney Franklin. “All voters trust that elected officials will serve honorably, not line their own pockets. Hammon violated that trust. I would like to thank the United States Postal Inspection Service for the excellent work that led to this prosecution. My office will continue to hold our elected officials accountable.”
“This sentencing sends out the clear message that nobody is above the law when it comes to the sanctity of the U.S. Mail,” said U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, Houston Division. “Postal Inspectors steadfastly work to defend the nation’s mail system from fraud in hopes of bringing anyone to justice that uses the U.S. Postal Service in violating the trust of the American public.”
