A federal judge postponed former New York Rep. Chris Collins’s prison sentence for securities fraud by two months after the Republican brought up concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and the threat to inmates.
Collins was expected to report to prison for a 26-month sentence on April 21 but is now scheduled to begin his sentence June 23.
Lawyers for Collins, 69, asked the court to delay the sentence, saying they believe he faces a higher risk of contracting the virus because of his age and “additional” factors.
“It would be particularly dangerous for an elderly person with underlying health conditions like Mr. Collins to report for incarceration right now in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the United States,” his lawyers argued to U.S. District Court Judge Vernon Broderick.
Collins’s lawyers said prosecutors did not oppose the postponement.
The New York Republican was the first sitting congressman to support President Trump’s White House bid. He resigned from Congress ahead of his guilty plea after he claimed for months that charges against him were “meritless.” Collins was reelected despite the indictment.
