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Sentencing set for ex-judge in fraud case

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2009

TAMPA - Former state Judge Thomas Stringer may dread the next Friday the 13th.

He'll be sentenced that day in November on a federal bank fraud charge relating to his financial dealings with a stripper.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today formally accepted Stringer's Aug. 6 guilty plea and set his sentencing.

Stringer retired from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in February as he was being investigated by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.

The charge against him carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but he is expected to get probation. He has also agreed to forfeit $222,000.

According to the charge, Stringer lied on a loan application to purchase a house in Hawaii, saying the money used in the down payment was his, when it was, in fact, Christy Yamanaka's.

Authorities began looking at Stringer after a series of reports in March 2008 by News Channel 8 and The Tampa Tribune revealed he allowed Yamanaka to deposit tens of thousands of dollars into his bank accounts.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.

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