Terry Allan Messmer booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A former professor at Utah State University has been ordered to spend next weekend in jail followed by three years probation for stealing $26,640 from the school. Terry Allan Messmer, 70, apologized for his actions and said he would spend the rest of his life restoring the trust he had violated.
Messmer was sentenced Monday afternoon, Nov. 6, in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of misuse of public money, a second-degree felony.
According to prosecutors, Utah State Police began investigating Messmer following an audit that showed he submitted travel forms to be “reimbursed money that was not owed to him.” The auditors found a pattern of fraudulent activity going back to at least 2018.
Officers were also given evidence of 10 incidents where Messmer, who had been employed by USU for almost 30 years, claimed extra per diem and or lodging for his USU business travels. During these trips, he would add meals for payout that were not qualified for reimbursement.
On one occasion in October 2022, Messmer traveled to Centennial, Colorado for a Free-Roaming Equid Network site visit. During this time, his daughter was getting married in the same area. Statements showed he booked a multi-bedroom Airbnb but then altered the receipt, whiting out the house size and number of guests, before submitting it for reimbursement from the school, police reported.
Messmer was arrested May 1, 2023 and booked into the Cache County Jail. He was released the following day on bail. As part of the plea agreement, attorneys agreed not to recommend anymore jail time since the defendant had already paid back the money.
However, during Monday’s hearing, Judge Spencer Walsh said Messmer deserved more incarceration, to send a message to the community that taxpayer funds are not to be misused. He ordered the defendant to report to jail Saturday, to serve two more days incarceration.
Messmer told the court, “I apologize to the entire university system and tax payers.” He expressed regret and took full responsibility for his actions, claiming they were against his character.
In addition to the jail time and probation, Judge Walsh also ordered Messmer to serve 200 hours of community service and complete several treatment programs. He told the defendant, these “substantial penalties” will help him move forward and know that he had paid his debt to society.
Messmer was a Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist in the Department of Wildland Resources in Logan. He reportedly left USU after being arrested and is no longer an employee of the university.