BOISE – Kurt Bates, 45, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to serve 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and to pay a fine of $1,000 for misprision of a felony, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Bates was the former general manager of West Coast Car Company, a used car dealership with two locations in Boise.  Bates pled guilty to a superseding information on June 5, 2012.

According to the plea agreement, Bates admitted that on September 16, 2008, he became aware that one or more persons committed the felony crime of money laundering, in that these individuals conspired to conduct a sale of two automobiles for cash represented by authorized law enforcement officers to be the proceeds of drug dealing activities.  Bates admitted that he failed to notify law enforcement officers or other authorities that this crime had been committed.  Bates was interviewed by law enforcement personnel about the money laundering activities on January 22, 2009, and failed to answer their questions truthfully.

Bates’ co-defendant, Joseph Monte Johnson, formerly of Idaho Falls, pleaded guilty in August 2011 to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Johnson, the former finance manager of West Coast Car Company, is currently serving 40 months in federal prison.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.