Ex-Missouri house speaker sentenced 21 months for misusing Covid relief funds

John Diehl admitted using federal pandemic loans for country club dues, cars and other personal expenses

A former Missouri state house speaker was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal Covid-19 relief funds for his personal benefit, including the payments of his country club dues and three cars.

John Diehl, the former Republican house speaker, received about $380,000 in federal loans for his law firm between 2020 and 2022 through a program intended to help cover operating expenses for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

But Diehl admitted in a September plea agreement that he instead used the money for personal expenses such as country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, his home mortgage and vehicle payments for a Tesla, Audi and Jeep. Prosecutors said he used more than half the money to fund his law firm’s defined benefit plan, of which he was the only participant – and also paid off a civil settlement related to his time as state house speaker.