Carson City businessman sentenced to 1 year in jail in embezzlement case

Lenny Chappell, former head of the Downtown Business Association, was sentenced in court Tuesday for charges of conspiracy to commit embezzlement.

He was sentenced to one year in the Carson City jail with probation denied.

Chappell was arrested in May 2015, accused of embezzling $7,347 from the Platinum Plus day spa where he worked. As a part of a plea bargain, he was paying restitution in return for a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit embezzlement.

Patricia Davin, one of the owners of Platinum Plus, testified in the hearing Tuesday, calling Chappell a “selfish, self-centered” man during her victim impact statement.

“You took advantage of all of us,” Davin said.

Davin also talked about the long standing effects Chappell’s actions had on herself and others.

District Judge James Wilson denied the District Attorney’s recommendation for parole, on the grounds Chappell’s prior felony theft convictions and the financial and emotional stress of the crime didn’t constitute it.

His defense attorney, Karin Kreizenbeck, had asked to postpone Chappell’s custody date in order to make arrangements for a death in his family and claimed he was the only one in the family who could do so. However, District Attorney Tina Russom argued against it, asking for Chappell’s passport for fear of his flight risk.

The judge denied the motion and ordered Chappell to be taken into custody Tuesday.

Russom is a Douglas County attorney who handled the case, because Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury had a conflict of interest due to the fact he represented Platinum Plus when he was a private attorney.