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Court denies country singer’s appeal

By: Eric Heisig//September 10, 2013//

Court denies country singer’s appeal

By: Eric Heisig//September 10, 2013//

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Jim Hudson
Jim Hudson

The appeal of an Oak Creek country singer behind bars for scamming people out of money was denied Tuesday, with appellate judges noting that at least one of his arguments “borders on the frivolous.”

Jim Hudson, formerly known as Jim Harley in the duo Smith & Harley, took hundreds of thousands of dollars from several people, saying that he wanted to use it for his music career. Instead, he used it for other purposes.

In 2011, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Dennis Cimpl sentenced Hudson to six years in prison after Hudson pleaded no contest to making false statements in connection with the sale of securities.

Hudson, 56, appealed the case, saying he should be able to withdraw his plea for a variety of reasons.

But the state Court of Appeals denied each argument, saying in its opinion that “this matter is one of ‘buyer’s remorse.’”

“Hudson got a very lenient plea bargain in light of all the money he took from his victims, and the repeated lies he told them to get them to give him their money,” the opinion reads.

Hudson argued that his actions did not involve the use of “securities,” and was never provided a clear definition of a security. He also argued that prosecutors did not provide sufficient information to support the charges.

Hudson, who is incarcerated at Redgranite Correctional Institution, is scheduled to be released from prison in 2017.

According to Smith & Harley’s website, Hudson is no longer a part of the duo, and the group is in the process of replacing him.

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