Former County Official Gets 15 Years for Embezzlement
Byung Il “Peter” Bang received a 15-year sentence for embezzling $6.7 million from Montgomery County on Thursday.
Bang, a former official with the Department of Economic Development, had concocted elaborate schemes to hide his thefts, which he used on gambling, prosecutors said.
In his sentencing memo to Circuit Court Judge Cheryl McCally, State’s Attorney John McCarthy had sought at least 12 years for Bang.
“In the abstract, it is hard for a normal person to grasp what $6.7 million means. But when put in the context of refurbishing five county libraries, or paying the training and salary of 55 police officers, or buying 13 transit buses, it becomes clearer just how significant the level of harm really is from the defendant’s crimes,” McCarthy wrote.
Bang had pleaded guilty to two counts. In the first count, he admitted to embezzling $6.7 million from the county. In the second count, he admitted to using his county position corruptly.
In U.S. District Court, Bang pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making false statements on tax documents. He received a 48-month sentence, followed by 36 months of supervision after his release.
The county spent $1.6 million more trying to unravel Bang’s crimes, putting the total cost of his crimes at $8 million, McCarthy wrote.
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