Nebraska medical marijuana petition circulator pleads guilty in fake signature case

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Nebraska petition circulator took a plea deal Friday in a case over fraudulent signatures.

Michael Egbert, 66, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted false swearing to a circulator’s affidavit.

Hall County Judge Arthur Wetzel then found him guilty and ordered him to pay a $250 fine, bringing a swift end to a case with implications that could be felt statewide.

SEE ALSO: ‘We’re going to have some delays’: What’s next for Nebraska’s medical marijuana initiatives?

Egbert, of Grand Island, was at the center of an investigation into allegations of fraud on two petitions to legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Nebraska.

Court documents say he submitted dozens of fake signatures on each petition.

He used a phone book to come up with names, according to an affidavit, and then made up their birthdates on the petitions.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska medical marijuana initiatives win in landslide, but legal challenge remains

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said 68 of the names had the voters’ wrong birthdate, eight names were of dead people and six signatures were misspelled.

Egbert would also leave petition pages unattended, so some people may have signed them without his knowledge.

The affidavit says he also failed to sign the circulator’s oath in the presence of a notary public, as required by state law.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska medical marijuana trial ends; decision could come in about two weeks

Egbert was charged with a felony on Sept. 12. His plea deal reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.

A notary public, Jacy Todd of York, faces 24 charges of official misconduct in the criminal investigation.

Nebraska’s secretary of state certified the petitions to be placed on the ballot, and voters approved them on Tuesday by wide margins.

SEE ALSO: Judge won’t block counting of votes on Nebraska medical marijuana initiatives

But a lawsuit could prevent them from becoming law.

The suit, which led to a multiday trial in Lancaster County Court, argues that too many petition signatures were “tainted” by fraud or “notary malfeasance.”

A judge is expected to rule on the lawsuit within the next two weeks.

SEE ALSO: Fraud trial begins for Nebraska medical marijuana petitions