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Gillette man sentenced to prison for stealing from Scouts, elderly woman

Jason Barnum

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man who pleaded guilty to taking more than $150,000 from the Boy Scouts and an elderly woman has been sentenced to several years in prison.

Thursday morning, District Judge Thomas Rumpke sentenced Jason Barnum, 42, to four- to six-year prison sentences on three theft counts, to be served concurrently, and a five- to seven-year sentence for the fraud, to be served consecutively.

Barnum also must pay restitution to his victims, including $15,672 to the local Boy Scout troop, $1,980 to the Cub Scouts, $10,976 to the Boy Scouts of America and $117,397 to Maxine Heer, the woman he stole from.

In November, Barnum pleaded guilty to taking more than $30,000 from the Boy Scouts while he was a scoutmaster and more than $120,000 from Heer, for whom he had worked and befriended.

Prosecutors had recommended an imposed three- to five-year prison sentence on each of the theft counts, to be served concurrently, and a suspended five- to 10-year sentence for the fraud and then 10 years of supervised probation. As part of the plea agreement, he had to pay $10,000 before his sentencing.

But new charges have come to light. Barnum has been charged in Circuit Court with two counts of felony fraud and three counts of misdemeanor fraud for allegedly taking money from people who had hired him to work on their homes while he was out on bond.

Rumpke said the new charges played a big part in sentencing Barnum more harshly than the plea agreement.

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