By Ed White
Associated Press
DETROIT — A Detroit-area woman who wanted to freeze her eggs before going to prison for six years failed to persuade a judge Wednesday to delay her sentence by two weeks.
Noting a series of earlier extensions, U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani said Dawn Hanna had “ample time ... to get her personal business in order.”
Hanna, 36, was convicted last year of breaking a U.S. trade embargo with Iraq by selling telecommunications equipment before the war started in 2003. The ruling means she must report to prison by Tuesday.
In a court filing, Hanna offered several reasons for a two-week delay, including health issues, her poor personal finances and the care of a relative.
“I wanted to take care of my female issues as well if possible because ... I’m a female,” Hanna wrote. “Most have been done but there is one thing I wanted to do which is freeze my eggs due to my age and length of the sentence.”
The U.S. attorney’s office was not sympathetic. Hanna’s original prison date was in May.
She has been “on notice for many months that a prison sentence was nearing, and that it would be necessary to make appropriate arrangements,” wrote assistant U.S. attorneys Barbara McQuade and Michael Martin.
A message seeking comment was left with Hanna’s attorney, N.C. Deday LaRene.
Hanna was in charge of international sales at Technology Integration Group Services in Rochester, a Detroit suburb. The government said she gained $1.1 million by doing business with Iraq in 2002 and 2003.
Hanna acknowledged her actions were “reckless.”
The judge already has been generous: Hanna’s six-year sentence is about 10 years less than the minimum under federal guidelines. The guidelines are not mandatory.