Sentencing postponed for trail-hiking embezzler from Lexington

A federal judge in Ohio has rescheduled the sentencing of a Kentucky accountant who spent much of six years as a fugitive hiking the Appalachian Trail.

The judge has postponed a March 30 sentencing date until June 1 to give the attorney for James Hammes more time because of her trial schedule.

Hammes pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud and agreed to pay back money embezzled in the $8.7 million case. Federal authorities agreed to drop 74 other charges against Hammes, a former Lexington employee of a Cincinnati-based Pepsi-Cola bottler.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum of 20 years behind bars.

FBI agents arrested Hammes last May in Damascus, Va.

Previous coverage:

Lexington embezzlement fugitive, known along the Appalachian Trail, to plead guilty

Virginia innkeeper: Lexington fugitive, caught at hiking festival, was 'one of my favorite hikers'

A fugitive since 2009 embezzling charges, Lexington man arrested in Virginia

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 8:14 AM with the headline "Sentencing postponed for trail-hiking embezzler from Lexington."