Having a Gay Old Time: Couple Sentenced for Massive Theft from Vanderbilt Law (and Statutory Rape)
A former administrator at Vanderbilt Law School just got a hefty sentence after pleading guilty to theft and statutory rape. His boyfriend got sentenced too. How much time did they get, and what are some of the salacious allegations?
This week brought unfortunate news for an unambiguously gay duo. A former employee of Vanderbilt Law and his boyfriend pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 from the law school — as well as to charges of aggravated statutory rape. Both men then got hit with some pretty heavy sentences.
How much time are they getting? How did they perpetrate their fraudulent scheme? And what did they blow the money on?
Keep reading for more details of their crimes, some color commentary from local correspondents, and photographs of some beautiful youths who used to hang out with the defendants….
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Here’s a report from the Nashville City Paper:
A former Vanderbilt employee and his partner pleaded guilty to stealing at least $530,000 from Vanderbilt University as well as to aggravated statutory rape charges.
Less than a month before their scheduled trial date, Jason Hunt and Samuel “Cole” Wakefield entered guilty pleas on numerous criminal count[s] following a 60-count indictment handed down earlier this year including various charges of theft, credit card fraud, forgery, aggravated statutory rape.
Hunt, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of more than $60k, one count of fraudulent use of a credit card, nine counts of forgery, and six counts of aggravated statutory rape…. Wakefield, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and five counts of aggravated statutory rape….
Hunt and Wakefield were sentenced to 22 years and 10 years, respectively, in prison. It makes sense that Hunt received the harsher sentence since he was the Vandy Law employee.
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Would you consider these sentences fair? One of our Nashville readers described the penalties as “totally ridiculous,” noting that keeping Hunt and Wakefield in prison this long will probably cost more than a million in wasted taxpayer dollars. Looking on the bright side, both men will become eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of their total sentences.
How did the Hunt and Wakefield commit their crimes? (The fraud-related offenses; we can imagine the statutory rape.) From the National Law Journal:
Jason Hunt, who performed various financial duties at the law school from 2005 to 2011, stole at least $535,962 from Vanderbilt using a school-issued credit card and through check fraud. He forged check approval requests and e-mail correspondence involving goods and services that were never provided to the law school, according to Davidson County, Tenn., District Attorney’s office in Nashville. The thefts occurred between April 2010 and October 2011, prosecutors said.
The law school began to investigate Hunt in October 2011 after being tipped off that he was using university money for personal expenses. He was placed on administrative leave and left Nashville to open a nightclub called Creme in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with his domestic partner Samuel “Cole” Wakefield, according to prosecutors.
Actually, it seems this gay nightclub was called — appropriately enough — “Crema” (according to Queerty, which links to the place’s TripAdvisor page). Alas, after Crema turned sour — the nightclub failed — Hunt and Wakefield returned to the United States, where they were eventually arrested.
(Interestingly enough, this was not the couple’s first failed foray into the nightlife business. For a time they ran a male strip club in Nashville called Arrow, which lasted less than a year.)
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During their glory days, Jason Hunt and Cole Wakefield were the talk of gay Nashville, sources tell us. Hunt served as president of Nashville Pride, and Wakefield ran the Arrow nightclub. Even though they were “larger and not so pretty” — in the words of one ATL tipster, who initially offered an even harsher assessment of their looks — Hunt and Wakefield constantly cavorted with gorgeous young twinks.
It now appears that these social interactions may have been lubricated… with money. According to the Nashville City Paper, citing claims by the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, “investigators determined some of the forged checks written by Hunt were cashed by two 17-year-old males, with whom both Hunt and Wakefield had sexual relations.”
If you think that the world is biased towards attractive people, then perhaps this is a feel-good story. Thanks to their theft from Vanderbilt, Hunt and Wakefield, despite being “larger and not so pretty,” were able to enjoy sexual congress with two 17-year-old males.
If former cheerleaders get to enjoy hot sex with 17 year olds, why shouldn’t overweight law school administrators get a shot at it too? Let he who is not the tiniest bit of an ephebophile cast the first stone.
P.S. Speaking of Vanderbilt Law, I’ll be speaking there on November 6. Please come and say hello!
(If you’re really interested in this story, flip to the next page for (1) links to additional news coverage and (2) photos of Samuel Cole Wakefield and some very handsome young men with whom he socialized in Nashville.)
