Aaron McCreight has resigned as head of a Dothan tourism organization after a federal judge in Iowa sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison last week.

McCreight, 48, pleaded guilty to bank fraud on Jan. 26, 2022, stemming from work he did for an Iowa non-profit before he was hired in Alabama. He had served as the CEO of Visit Dothan since 2019.

Judge C.J. Williams sentenced McCreight to 18 months in prison, while McCreight’s former finance director at Go Cedar Rapids, Doug Hargrave, 56, was sentenced to 15 months. Together, they were ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution, according to The Des Moines Register.

In a statement, the Visit Dothan board praised the work McCreight has done during his time in Alabama, according to The Dothan Eagle. He “passionately and effectively lifted Dothan,” the organization said.

“Under the leadership of Aaron, sports tournaments grew dramatically, hotel room reservations grew, and visitor spending increased significantly,” the board stated.

“His accomplishments included a new visitor website, an international BMX event, a national marketing campaign, an enhanced official visitors guide, a record-breaking year for sports tournaments, new partnerships with local restaurants, and improvement of our sports facilities.”

According to court documents, McCreight headed tourism non-profit Go Cedar Rapids in Iowa. He instructed his finance director Hargrave to falsify ticket sale projections for Newbo Evolve, a 2018 three-day Iowa music festival, to secure a bank loan.

Prosecutors said the festival, which featured headliner Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5, experienced lackluster ticket sales and did not have enough money to pay Clarkson and provide alcohol without the loan.

The event incurred heavy losses of more than $2 million and eventually forced the tourism non-profit to fold.