William Ballantine, of Kirkland, Wash., also was ordered Wednesday to pay more than $480,000 in restitution, plus a $20,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion in April.
Ballantine was accused of taking $395,000 from a charitable foundation his late mother had set up and arranging for a church in Durango to receive the money and funnel it into his bank account. The church reported the transactions to authorities.
The Durango Herald reports Ballantine said he was humiliated by what he did.
Ballantine is the brother of Durango Herald Publisher Richard Ballantine.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)