Erpenbeck friend gets sentenced for lying about $250,000 he buried

COVINGTON, Ky. - A friend of jailed homebuilder Bill Erpenbeck will learn Friday how long he'll be in prison for lying to FBI agents about where he buried over $250,000.

Steven Michael Skidmore, 48, faces a possible prison term of 5 years and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to making false statements to a U.S. government agency.

Last December, Skidmore admitted to telling FBI agents he had no knowledge of where any of Erpenbeck's money might be, when he actually buried $257,611 underneath the 3rd tee at the Summit Hills Country Club golf course.

Skidmore and Erpenbeck had homes on Legend's Way in Crestview Hills, which is next to the golf course. Skidmore told U.S. District Court Judge Danny Reeves, "I wasn't truthful in my answers."

Skidmore, who formerly owned Skyline restaurants in Northern Kentucky, was to have been sentenced in March, but that hearing was delayed until Friday afternoon.

When asked by Judge Reeves if he had been given any instructions on how to handle the money by Erpenbeck, Skidmore said he was told to hold on to the cash until Erpenbeck worked things out.

Erpenbeck continues to serve a 25-year federal prison sentence, stemming from the collapse of his home building company.

Skidmore is scheduled to be sentenced at hearing starting at 2:30 p.m. Friday.