Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990 TAG: 9007180261
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The action came just six weeks before Craft was scheduled to begin serving an eight-year sentence he was given by a federal judge last month for racketeering.
Al Whitley, a spokesman for the board and the Department of Commerce, said Tuesday that the board voted in a closed session late Monday to revoke Craft's license because of his felony conviction.
That conviction was last September when Craft pleaded guilty in federal court in Roanoke. His sentencing was delayed under a plea agreement until he testified against Stephen Lucion, his partner in the racketeering scheme. Lucion received a 10-year sentence last month.
Under state law, the board could have revoked Craft's license at any time since September. But Whitley said the board's position is that it had to wait until an official order of conviction was entered with sentencing.
Whitley said board members refused a request to discuss the case publicly and would say only that they acted on legal advice from the attorney general.
A spokesman for the attorney general said that even though a judge finds someone guilty, boards historically have waited to act in license revocation cases until a final order of conviction is entered with sentencing.
But to avoid future misunderstandings, the attorney general's office sent the Commerce Department and the Board of Accountancy an advisory Tuesday explaining that they don't have to wait for sentencing. If they choose, the attorney general's advisory said, they can revoke a license after a guilty plea is made and accepted.
The board's hesitancy to revoke Craft's license stood in marked contrast to its swift action two years ago when the board learned that Craft neglected to pay his license fee.
In that case the board refused to let Craft call himself a certified public accountant until he reapplied, passed review and paid his license fee. The board went so far then as to make him tape over the word "Certified" on the plaque outside his Vinton office.
Craft, who was given until Aug. 27 to begin serving his eight-year sentence, said Tuesday he plans to keep his office open despite his prison sentence and loss of license.
"I'm still going to be here," he said. While he is in prison, he said, his business, Circle C Consultants, will be run by his wife and a few CPAs who have agreed to do some of the work.
Craft, 42, said he hopes to get his CPA license back after serving his time and getting off probation. The license is a matter of prestige, but has little to do with most of his accounting work in bookkeeping and preparing income taxes, he said.
by CNB