"Mrs. Dino" sentenced to one year in prison

June 29, 2007

Jo Hovind, wife of Kent Hovind, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for 44 counts of evading bank reporting requirements. In November 2006 Jo was convicted of 44 counts and Kent was convicted of 58 counts, and both decided not to present a defense at trial.

Kent Hovind, self-styled as Dr. Dino despite lacking any degrees from accredited schools, is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution, Edgefield, and according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons is scheduled for release in July 2015.

In addition to the prison time Jo Hovind, 51, was ordered to pay US$8,000 in fines and serve three years supervision when released from prison. In January 2007 Kent was ordered to pay $640,000 in owed funds to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), pay prosecution's court costs of $7,078, and serve three years parole once released.

Though the couple were indicted on these charges last summer in July 2006, they had a long history of tax protesting and running the Creation Science Evangelism Ministry without proper licensing. According to the IRS, Kent Hovind had never filed any income taxes with the agency.

Mrs. Hovind was found guilty in November on 44 counts of evading bank-reporting requirements. The same jury found her husband guilty on 58 federal counts, including failure to pay $845,000 in employee-related taxes. He was sentenced in January to ten years in federal prison.

According to the Pensacola News Journal, Jo Hovind’s attorney, Jerry Barringer, plans to appeal the guilty verdict as well as the prison sentence.