Bettendorf accountant acquitted in Iowa film tax credit scandal

A Polk County jury Monday acquitted Bettendorf accountant Chad Witter of all criminal charges brought against him by the state for his alleged role in the state film tax credit scandal.

Witter, 39, the primary accountant for the Changing Horses Productions film company and a tax credit broker for several film projects, was charged with five felonies that included two counts each of first-degree theft and first-degree fraudulent practice and one count of ongoing criminal conduct.

A Polk County jury of seven women and five men deliberated less than five hours Monday before handing down the acquittals.

“I don't want to say anything right now. I just want to go back home and see my kids,” Witter said after the verdict was read. During the two-week trial he took the stand to deny any wrongdoing. He testified that he brokered in excess of $24 million in credits and received commissions upward of $400,000 over two years.

Prosecutors contended Witter knowingly made false statements and engaged in fraudulent practices while procuring state economic development assistance for various projects.

The film program was shut down in 2009 after an audit showed millions of dollars worth of tax credits were awarded improperly.

Six people in the state Department of Economic Development lost their jobs when an unfolding scandal triggered by the purchase of luxury vehicles that were deemed eligible for tax credits prompted former Gov. Chet Culver to suspend the program in September 2009 and request a probe by the state auditor and attorney general after an internal audit raised concerns about lax oversight, mismanagement, inadequate documentation of expenditures, and payments for questionable in-kind services.