$100M sweepstakes fraud case put two KC attorneys on trial. Here’s what to know | Opinion
A federal judge found longtime Kansas City attorney Pete Smith guilty of criminal contempt for concealing financial details during a sweepstakes fraud case that bilked consumers out of more than $100 million. A second attorney, John Kennyhertz, was tried on related charges but acquitted after the government failed to prove he willfully violated a court order.
FULL STORY: ‘Picture of deception’: How $100 million sweepstakes case put two KC attorneys on trial | Opinion
Here are key takeaways:
- C. Floyd Anderson and his relatives collected more than $100 million from consumers through mass-mailed sweepstakes and puzzle contests of “questionable legitimacy,” according to the FTC. Nobody ever won the million-dollar sweepstakes they advertised, per court filings cited by the Kansas City Star.
- U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark found Smith, 80, guilty of criminal contempt on March 16. The charges centered on draining a joint bank account, concealing a business venture from financial disclosures, and withholding a two-page English-language document while producing 93 pages of Spanish-language records instead.
- Ketchmark wrote that Smith’s conduct amounted to a “picture of deception” and called it “unprofessional, unethical … and serves as a poor role model for the legal community.”
- Kennyhertz, who represented Anderson’s son-in-law William Graham, was found not guilty in a 2025 ruling. Prosecutors alleged he kept routing hundreds of thousands of dollars through accounts the court had frozen, including fees to his own firm.
- Smith’s firm said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the verdict and said it “strongly disagrees with the decision.” Prosecutors previously said they would not seek more than six months in jail or a $5,000 fine. Whether Smith will be disbarred is up to the Missouri Supreme Court.
This reporting was done by Opinion columnist David Hudnall, and these takeaways were compiled with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published March 29, 2026 at 5:07 AM.
