Nearly two years since pleading guilty to federal charges, former Washougal finance director and licensed tax lawyer Jeffrey Bivens has yet to begin his prison sentence.
He doesn’t even know how long a sentence he’ll serve.
Bivens pleaded guilty in October 2010 to making materially false statements to the Small Business Administration and Wachovia Bank. He was scheduled to be sentenced at U.S. District Court in Tacoma in May 2011.
But that sentencing hearing never happened.
Before the scheduled hearing, Bivens attorney requested a postponement, which the court granted. Bivens’ attorney cited a personal health matter as the reason for the request, said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Emily Langlie.The new hearing was set for September 2011, but it was delayed again and again, due to the attorney’s health issues and additional investigating in the case, Langlie said. Then in May, the assistant U.S. attorney on the case asked for a postponement, so he could undergo cancer treatment, she said.
Bivens, 35, is currently scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he faces five years in prison and shares a portion of the $1.7 million loss associated with the bank and SBA loan.
