Court Denies Waltz Bid to Overturn Casino Campaign Case

Former Indiana State Senator Brent Waltz will not be getting another chance to overturn his federal prison sentence. 

The Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana rejected his motion on Monday, ending what had been a particularly lengthy effort by Waltz to challenge the ten-month sentence and probation he received.

“I Will Fight For the Rest of My Life”

The 52-year-old was indicted in 2020 and convicted two years later for illegally funneling tens of thousands of dollars in casino funds to his campaign for Congress, as well as giving false statements. 

The Republican, who served in the state Senate from 2004 to 2016, spent nearly six months in a Kentucky prison before completing the remainder of his sentence in a halfway house and on home confinement.

Despite having served his time, Waltz filed a motion to overturn his plea deal, claiming that his former attorney gave him poor legal advice and failed to explain that accepting the deal would likely result in jail time. 

Chief Judge James R. Sweeney II rejected these claims, saying they “did not warrant overturning his plea deal and sentence.”

Speaking to reporters, Waltz expressed disappointment with the ruling. “I don’t have a very high opinion of him,” he said of the judge. 

He also vowed to continue fighting to clear his name. “I am living, breathing proof that anyone can have their constitutional rights taken away from them unjustly. I will fight for the rest of my life if need be to have those restored.”

Waltz Claims He Was Not Aware of the Scheme

The legal troubles stemmed from Waltz’s failed 2016 campaign for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District. Then, a federal grand jury indicted him for violating campaign finance laws, accusing him of working with political consultant Kelley Rogers to funnel contributions from Indiana casino company New Centaur Inc. to bypass campaign funding caps. 

The funds were allegedly routed through fake contracts and used to reimburse friends and family for campaign contributions.

Waltz admitted he pressured the consultant to raise funds quickly, believing his chances of winning would improve if his campaign benefited from a larger fund reserve. However, he continues to maintain that he did not take part in or have full knowledge of the scheme, and that Rogers never implicated him directly.