Kevin Raye appears in court for sentencing March 31, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Former Brown County IT employee Kevin Raye’s request for a new sentencing hearing after he sold county-owned computers for personal gain was denied by an appeals court.
Raye was sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of seven counts of theft of movable property and one count of misconduct in office for thefts in 2020. Raye used county funds to buy hundreds of Cisco Wireless Access Points worth approximately $1.2 million over a period of several years; that he sold those items to a Texas school through his personal company for approximately $640,000; and that he subsequently used that money for various personal purchases, including a tractor, real estate, gold and silver coins, and stocks.
Raye appealed on two grounds: that he was sentenced based on inaccurate information, and because his sentence was disproportionate to others convicted of similar counts.
In a 12-page ruling Wednesday, the court rejected both arguments.
Regarding the inaccurate information cited by the judge:
Neither Raye’s postconviction motion nor his reply brief in support of that motion contained a developed argument alerting the circuit court that Raye was seeking relief based on the sentencing court’s consideration of inaccurate information about his rehabilitative needs Accordingly, we decline to address Raye’s argument that he was sentenced based on inaccurate information regarding his rehabilitative needs,” the ruling states.
As for the claim of new details comparing sentences:
The sentencing court made no mention during its sentencing remarks of other defendants, other theft prosecutions, or sentences imposed in other cases. Nothing in the court’s remarks indicated that its aim was to achieve parity between Raye’s aggregate sentence and the sentences imposed by other courts on other defendants. And, importantly, the court was not required to do so Raye’s aggregate sentence is well within the statutory maximum and is therefore presumptively not unduly harsh or unconscionable,” the decision states.
The ruling could be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Raye is currently at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution, state records show.
According to the criminal complaint, Raye worked in the technology services department. Items were purchased by the county but shipped elsewhere, including a college in Texas.
Raye stated that every single penny he received from Rhino Technology Group was from stolen merchandise from Brown County. Raye stated he used the money received from selling this stolen merchandise to cost of living things, including a John Deere tractor, property, gold and silver coins, and stock market trading. Raye estimated that he received about $300,000 from Brown County merchandise he sold to Rhino Technology Group,” the complaint states.
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