MINNESOTA filmmaker Wendy Weiner Runge pled guilty Feb. 16, to a felony fraud charge brought against her by the state of Iowa.
The surprise action came just as attorneys on both sides rested their cases in her trial, which had begun on Feb. 7, for fraud in relation to tax credit incentives offered by the now-defunct Iowa Film Office.
Before then, Runge had steadily insisted on her innocence of all charges, and had said she was singled out by the state.
According to a Des Moines Register article by reporter Lee Rood, the plea agreement means that Runge, a 45-year-old Orthodox Jewish mother of four, will likely face less time in prison than she would have if convicted of all felony counts brought against her by Iowas attorney general.
Before the plea, the novice filmmaker could have faced between 10 and 65 years behind bars.
Jannay Towne of WHO-TV in Des Moines, reported that Runge now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
She also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and pay restitution to the state. The agreement will help in prosecuting at least four more criminal cases connected with the year-a-half scandal, according to Iowa Deputy Attorney General Thomas H. Miller.
In an interview this week, Runge told the Intermountain Jewish News that sentencing could take place years from now after the state of Iowa concludes all prosecutions related to the now-defunct Iowa Film Office.
Runge, who created Polynation Pictures with three partners two of whom were also charged but plea bargained in exchange for testimony against Runge pled guilty of first-degree fraudulent practices in connection with two proposed films called Forever and Run.
Read Larry Hankin’s previous coverage of the story
According to the Des Moines Register, Runge sought tax credits for these movies before Iowas film program was suspended in late 2009. The fraudulent practices charge did not apply to The Scientist, the 2008 film that received $1.85 million in state tax credits.
The state dismissed the charges pertaining to Runges alleged abuse of tax credits relating to The Scientist.
A WEEK and a half after Runges trial in Polk County District Court began, and as both sides rested their cases, Runge admitted to District Judge Douglas Staskal that she lied on the application for the films, Forever and The Run, when she swapped one project for another in order to procure tax credits.
It was the only time that Runge spoke in the trial.
They contained false statements your honor, Runge told Judge Staskal.
Statements that were false that you knew were false? asked the judge.
Correct, she answered.
Did you do this for the purpose of obtaining economic assistance from the state of Iowa?
Yes sir, replied Runge.
According to WHO-TV, Runge maintained that she had acted on the advice of Tom Wheeler, the former head of the Iowa Film Office, who is also indicted by the state.
In multiple interviews with the IJN in the months leading up to her trial, Runge maintained her innocence, saying that she followed every regulation and requirement, and that all invoice submissions were approved and accepted for tax credits by Wheelers Iowa Film Office.
Runge also stated repeatedly that she and her partners were the only filmmakers of the several dozen who participated in the film incentive program to be charged with felony fraud.
The Des Moines Register reports that Runges case will likely be followed in late March by one involving Dennis Brouse, a public television personality from Nebraska who took home most of the $32 million in tax credits before the program was shut down. Bruce Heppner Elgin, an Iowa filmmaker, is also charged by state prosecutors in the ongoing case.
Runge told the IJN this week that the plea bargain that she accepted on Feb. 16 was the third plea bargain offered to her by the prosecution during the trial. They came to me with a plea bargain of one count of felony theft. I turned it down; I was not going to admit to something I did not do. I didnt steal anything.
Ultimately, Runge was advised to just plead guilty to something, she said. With both the prosecution and defense having rested their cases, and Runge and her attorney Matt Whitaker sensing a restless jury, Runge pled guilty to one count of felony fraud for modifying her application for two other potential film projects.
It was not theft, she maintained in speaking to the IJN. It was not ongoing criminal conduct.
She says former Iowa Film Office Director Tom Wheeler advised her, that anything on an application can be modified until it goes to contract. If it was against the law at the time, none of us knew, she said.
Runge will now cooperate with the state of Iowa on future cases involving the film incentive fiasco. I am on a short leash. If Im called to testify for the state, Ill testify for the state.
SHE still feels she was the scapegoat or test pattern for the state in dealing with the Iowa Film Office.
Runge, with the help of Rabbi Chaim Goldberger, leader of Knesseth Israel synagogue in St. Louis Park, Minn., appealed to members of the Jewish community in various cities to help fund her legal defense before the trial.
She and Rabbi Goldberger are continuing to do so, as Runge will be responsible for the expenses related to her cooperation and testimony as a states witness in the upcoming trials of other producers and former Iowa Film Office employees.
Despite Runges admission of guilt, Rabbi Goldberger told the IJN, We are very pleased with the outcome.
He elaborated, This charge, stemming from an action which Mrs. Runge readily acknowledges she did, had alleged that, in filing an application for future projects, Wendy exchanged one film project that had missed the deadline for another that had made it in time but was not going to be produced.
The switch, which was confirmed by e-mails shown at the trial, was made with the authorization of Iowa Film Office director Tom Wheeler, and that had led Wendy to believe it was permitted.
In fact, it was not allowed by law, and Wendy is guilty of having accepted the word of the State official and not checking it first with independent counsel.
That is the entire extent of Wendys guilty plea. Everything else against her has been dropped, including all charges of financial misconduct. In addition, Mrs. Runge will no longer be a party to any civil suit the State may choose to file against her former partners.
It was against the law, and shes prepared to acknowledge that and take whatever the consequences are, Rabbi Goldberger said.
In the meantime, Wendy Weiner Runge told the IJN she was back at work on Feb. 17, the day after the trial ended.
I plan to produce uplifting and inspiring feature films.
Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
