Woman convicted and sentenced in alcohol sale to two minors which led to fatal crash

District Attorney Eric J. Toney announced Tuesday, June 4, 2024, that Sanju Paudel pled no contest to two counts of Providing Alcohol to a Minor – Resulting in Death and was found guilty.

The convictions stem from the defendant’s sale of alcohol to a juvenile on January 20, 2023. That sale led to a fatal crash, which killed two boys on January 21, 2023.

During an emotional hearing, Judge Christenson sentenced Paudel on each count to nine months of conditional jail with six years of probation, concurrent to each other, and a condition that the defendant not engage in the sale of alcohol or work in a job in which the sale of alcohol is a duty.

District Attorney Toney stated “No parent should have to bury their child but two families had to do that, as they, and a community, continue to struggle with the loss of two boys because of the defendant’s failures. No sentence can take away the family’s pain and there is no sentence that could remotely value the lives of Nevins Zoch and Tommy Koenigs. We hope the convictions and today’s sentence serves as a deterrent and a wakeup call to those that sell alcohol, to ensure they are doing their job by protecting children through checking for identification when selling alcohol. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families, as today’s sentence doesn’t change that fact that their boys will forever be 16 years old.”

Both charges are Class G felonies and carry a maximum sentence of five years of initial confinement and five years of extended supervision. The state recommended 9-12 months of conditional jail and 7 years of probation on each count, concurrent to each other.

We are grateful for superb investigation led by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office that led to these convictions and some measure of justice for the victims and families. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Eric Toney.