Beanie Babies creator's sentence appealed

Prosecutors say judge gave too much weight to Ty Warner's charitable acts

May 10, 2014|By Becky Yerak, Tribune reporter
  • Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner was sentenced in January to two years’ probation for tax evasion.
Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner was sentenced in January to two years’ probation for tax evasion. (Anthony Souffle, Chicago Tribune)

The U.S. government Friday appealed the sentence of billionaire Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies creator who recently received two years' probation for tax evasion.



It's rare for federal prosecutors to appeal a sentence.

In a 65-page court filing Friday, prosecutors said the district court judge's ruling was "substantively unreasonable" and that Warner's sentencing should have provided the punishment and deterrence of a prison sentence. It also said Warner's sentence provided "unwarranted sentencing disparities," as others have been treated more harshly for tax evasion.

In its filing, the government said the court received 70 letters arguing for leniency on Warner's behalf. The government said 29 letters were from current or former workers, and 20 were from vendors or others with a business relationship with the defendant. Five came from lawyers and consultants whom Warner had previously employed, the government said.

"It was unreasonable for the district court to rely so heavily on Warner's charity," the government said in its appeal. "A defendant's acts of charity cannot 'trump' his criminal conduct, absent truly exceptional circumstances not present here."

Plus, "the district court failed to consider the source of the letters," the government said in its appeal.


The government also estimated that Warner's charitable contributions amounted to 2 percent of his net worth — a "not extraordinary" amount.


The government filing said the founder of Westmont-based Ty Inc. hid $100 million in a Swiss bank account, refused to report $24 million of income to the Internal Revenue Service and evaded $5.5 million in taxes.


Tribune reporter Jason Meisner contributed.

Twitter @beckyyerak