Published: Feb. 22, 2024 at 3:54 PM AKSTFAIRBANKS, Alaska - A park fund cofounder and former Halloween Town organizer accused of felony fraud rejected a plea deal Wednesday and will take her case to trial.
Souza told Superior Court Judge Patricia Haines she couldn’t go for an agreement that would land her with a felony conviction.She considered the deal in eight change of plea hearings over a five-month period before saying it was a no go, and at Wednesday’s hearing, Defense Attorney Steven Hansen explained his client’s hesitancy.The attorney explained Souza and her then-husband found a plot of land in the University West neighborhood that was once home to a park in the 1970s and 1980s.
A grand jury indicted Souza in March 2020 on one of scheme to defraud and two counts of first-degree theft, Class B Felonies. Alaska statute sets the bar for first-degree theft at $25,000 or more. Under the now-rejected agreement, she would have received a five-year suspended imposition of sentence, which entails no prison time. She also would have paid $2,000 in restitution to Fairbanks Children’s Museum or a local nonprofit that creates or maintains recreational facilities. The original park fund is defunct.