Wendy Askins Sentenced in $233K Fraud Scheme

Wendy Askins, 55, of Red Boiling Springs, just got 18 months behind bars for ripping off a federally funded development agency she was supposed to lead. The former Executive Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD) was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger, who also slapped her with two years of supervised release and a $233,000 restitution order. The feds don’t take kindly to stealing from programs meant to help the public — and Askins went all in.

Askins pleaded guilty on August 30, 2016, to theft of Federal program funds, capping a 12-count superseding indictment that included conspiracy, bank fraud, embezzlement, and making false statements. The scheme ran from March 2010 through February 2012, during which Askins funneled UCDD money — along with cash from sister agencies CRDC and CAIC — into a personal property she dubbed “Living the Dream” outside Cookeville, Tennessee. It was sold as an assisted living facility. In reality, it became her personal luxury pad.

Not only did Askins move in with her daughter, she used taxpayer-backed funds to upgrade her private living quarters with high-end finishes and amenities. The so-called senior housing project never opened. Instead, she created a shell operation — L.A. Management — to give the illusion of legitimacy. But the books were cooked. Employees were ordered to falsify board meeting minutes, and when questions arose, Askins doubled down with lies to cover the trail.

This wasn’t a one-woman hustle. Askins ran the scam with co-defendant Larry Webb, who copped a guilty plea on August 17, 2015. His sentencing is set for November 14, 2016. Investigators peeled back layers of deception involving forged documents, misdirected grants, and accounting shell games that reek of entitlement and greed. The whole operation stank from the start.

The case was cracked by a full federal arsenal: the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and inspectors general from the Department of Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. When multiple federal watchdogs converge, you know the crime’s serious. This wasn’t petty embezzlement — it was a calculated looting of public trust.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie N. Toussaint and William F. Abely handled the prosecution, driving home the message that misusing federal funds for personal enrichment carries real prison time. Askins’ dream ended in handcuffs. Now she serves 18 months to think about what she stole — and who she betrayed.