Former Antioch Baptist Church treasurer pleads guilty to wire fraud charge in Missouri

The former treasurer accused of embezzling more than $320,000 from the Antioch Baptist Church in rural Hannibal has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Court records show that Donald R. White, 70, of Hannibal, entered the plea Friday. He is set to be sentenced April 2 in U.S. District Court.

A federal grand jury indicted White last March on two counts of wire fraud.

The indictment alleged that White embezzled about $320,888 from the church for his personal benefit and the benefit of others. White was treasurer of the church from January 1994 through December 2016 and reportedly wrote most of the checks from the church's checking account and made the vast majority of all deposits without approval or oversight from other church members.

The charges allege that White wrote a check from the church's checking account to Walmart for $350 on April 19, 2016, and another check from the account to Fidelity Investments for $3,000, both for his personal benefit.

An investigation started after the Dec. 20, 2016, fire that destroyed the church. The fire was deemed suspicious in nature.

After White's arrest on March 9, Ralls County Sheriff Gerry Dinwiddie said White was suspected of being involved in a large-scale theft of church funds just before the fire.

White remains free after posting $10,000 bond.

Man pleads guilty to church embezzlement

A Raytown man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to embezzling more than $86,000 from Nativity of Mary Church and school in Independence and Sacred Heart of Guadalupe Church in Kansas City, where he worked or volunteered.

David Townley, 59, pleaded guilty in Kansas City federal court to one count each of wire fraud, mail fraud and tax evasion. He initially faced a 14-count indictment when charged in June 2016.


By pleading guilty, Townley admitted that he committed wire fraud while serving as business manager at Nativity from December 2006 to June 2013. His job gave him access to collections, donations and tuition payments, and according to court documents he skimmed tuition payments and frequent bank deposits separate from his and his wife's salary payments.

During that same time period, Townley admitted, he stole more than $47,700 from Guadalupe, where he had been volunteering since 2002. He had been in charge of paying bills, making book entries and preparing tax returns. According to court documents is wrote unauthorized checks to himself and third parties.


Analysis of Townley's bank records showed he used the embezzled money mostly to pay off credit card debt. Townley also admitted that he failed to file federal income tax returns for tax years 2005-13 and tried to conceal his true sources of income at Nativity and Guadalupe.

Townley faces up to 45 years in federal prison without parole, and sentencing hearing will be scheduled for at a later date.

Brookfield woman sentenced for embezzlement scheme against church

A Brookfield woman has received 21 months in prison for embezzling funds from a local church.  

Cynthia Head, 51, of Brookfield, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $192,000 in restitution for embezzling funds from the Brookfield Church of Nazarene. 

Head was found guilty of writing unauthorized checks to herself, making unauthorized withdrawals from the church’s bank account and purchasing items like computers, cameras and vacuum cleaners with church checks, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri.

The fraud scheme began in September of 2007 and lasted until October of 2013. Head also served as the church’s treasure during the time and netted approximately $192,000 from the scheme, according to the release.  

The Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Ex-minister in custody on theft, forgery charges in Missouri

A former Dexter, Missouri, minister has been arrested for felony forgery and theft over $25,000 and will be arraigned today in Stoddard County Circuit Court.

Marcus Credale Geuin, 35, is accused of taking $112,000 from First Pentecostal Church of Dexter in 2012. If convicted, Geuin could face up to 15 years in prison for theft and up to seven years for forgery.

A complaint on file with the court alleges that about April 1, 2012, Geuin appropriated $65,359.02 from the church.

The complaint further alleges about April 12, 2012, Geuin forged a document from the church's board of directors, giving him the "authority and power" to conduct business on the church's behalf.

The charges stem from an investigation by the Dexter Police Department that began Oct. 2, when an officer took an embezzlement complaint about the church, which is in the 12200 block of North One Mile Road, according to a probable-cause statement.

Later that day, the officer, spoke with church board members who reported "their ex-pastor, Marcus Geuin, stole a large amount of money from the church, and when he left the church, there was nothing left in bank accounts and none of the bills paid."

Pulley said he was told board members "let" Geuin resign May 5, 2013.

One board member "advised he discovered the theft when Marcus was removing $500 at a time using his ATM card," Pulley said. "Marcus did not give an explanation why."

Once that board member began reviewing the bank records, he found the money missing, and the unpaid bills, Pulley said.

"[He] advised on May 6, 2013, ... Marcus made an ATM withdrawal of $140 from the account, which left $2.34 in the account," Pulley said. The withdrawal allegedly was made after Geuin had resigned.

Pulley said the board member also reported noticing Geuin "was withdrawing $500 [from an ATM] several times a day out of the tithing account, and Marcus didn't say what it was for."

The former minister has been living in Wentzville, Missouri.

Brookfield church treasurer admits stealing from church in Missouri

A northern Missouri church treasurer has admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her own church.

Cynthia Head, 51, of Brookfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the Brookfield Church of the Nazarene by writing unauthorized church checks to herself and making unauthorized withdrawals from the church’s bank account.

As part of the embezzlement scheme, Head also made unauthorized purchases with church checks at local retail stores.

She bought such items as computers, cameras and vacuum cleaners only to then return the purchased items for cash.

Head’s fraud scheme began in September of 2007 and lasted until October of 2013 and netted approximately $192,000 in fraudulent proceeds which Head used for her own personal benefit.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said as Treasurer, Head held a position of trust within the Brookfield Church of the Nazarene and this position of trust significantly contributed to the commission and concealment of the fraud.

Head pled guilty to one felony count of wire fraud Friday before United States District Judge Catherine D. Perry.

Sentencing has been set for November 4, 2014.

Head now faces up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

Restitution is also mandatory.

In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Charles Birmingham is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Former church bookkeeper facing prison time for embezzlement

The former bookkeeper of a suburban St. Louis church faces sentencing March 7 after admitting that she took more than $300,000 from a church checking account.

Federal prosecutors say 52-year-old Elaine Lewis of Fenton pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Lewis worked as a bookkeeper at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in St. Louis County from 2009 through August. Authorities say she used a variety of schemes to embezzle money from the church's checking account.

Lewis could face up to 20 years in prison, and restitution is mandatory.

'Ghost employee' of Treasurer's office sentenced in Missouri

A man formerly on the payroll of the St. Louis Treasurer's office has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for collecting a paycheck without working and diverting about $240,000 to a now-defunct charter school.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig sentenced 71-year-old Fred Robinson on Tuesday. He must also serve three years of probation after his release from prison.
Robinson was convicted in March of wire fraud and federal program theft related to the embezzlement of money from the Paideia Academy, a failed city charter school where Robinson was chairman of the school board.
Authorities say Robinson collected more than $175,000 as a "ghost employee" of the Treasurer's office

Police investigate possible embezzlement at Papa John's on Missouri State University campus

Police are investigating thefts of money over several months from a food service vendor on Missouri State University’s campus.

Spokeswoman Lisa Cox said police are “investigating possible embezzlement” by employees at Papa John’s Pizza in the Plaster Student Union.

“Cases of suspicion have been documented over time,” Cox said. No arrests have been made.

According to a report released Tuesday, the thefts have been happening since early May.

The report lists Chartwells — a food service management company that was hired by the university — as the victim.

An MSU Board of Governors decision in April 2011 approved a 13-year contract worth an estimated $29 million with Chartwells. For 15 years prior to that, MSU had used Sodexo.

Chartwells polled students and made changes to the restaurant lineup at the student union, including adding Papa John’s.

Chartwells declined to comment on the incident.

Former Missouri State U Bookstore Manager Sentenced to 63 Months for Embezzlement

The former manager of the Missouri State University bookstore was sentenced in federal court Thursday for embezzling more than $1.1 million by pocketing the money from the school’s textbook buyback program.

Mark Brixey, 48, of Ozark, Mo., was sentenced to five years and three months (63 months) in federal prison without parole.

Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, says the court also ordered Brixey to pay $1,329,484 in total restitution to his victims, including $163,237 to Missouri State University, $166,247 to the Internal Revenue Service and $1 million to Zurich American Insurance Company.

On March 26, 2013, Brixey pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false tax return. Brixey, the manager of the MSU bookstore from 1998 to August 2012, admitted that he embezzled $1,163,237 from the student textbook buy-back program.

Brixey’s 10-year fraud scheme began in 2003 with the theft of nearly $29,000 and escalated each year, with more than $190,000 stolen during each of the last two full years of the scheme in 2010 and 2011. Brixey embezzled another $20,580 before he resigned in 2012.

Textbook Buyback Scheme

As manager of the MSU bookstore, Brixey handled all contacts related to the textbook buy-back program. At the close of each semester, MSU students had the opportunity to sell their used textbooks to Follett Educational Services, which contracted with MSU to administer the book buy-back program. Follett operated 10 textbook buy-back stations on the MSU campus during finals week in December and May of each year.

On the last day of each buy-back period, a Follett representative prepared a report that detailed how many textbooks were purchased and at what price. A Follett representative also calculated the commissions to be paid to MSU for allowing Follett to conduct the textbook buy-back program at the university.  A Follett representative gave a sight draft/check to Brixey for payment of the commission to MSU (beginning in 2011, the Follett representative paid the commission in cash directly to Brixey).

Follett also purchased textbooks that were no longer used by MSU professors directly from the MSU bookstore. Similar to the textbook buy-back program, a Follett representative calculated the total amount to be paid to MSU for these books and gave a sight draft/check to Brixey. The bookstore also disposed of surplus textbooks by reselling them to textbook wholesalers, such as MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc., and Nebraska Book Company.

When Brixey received sight drafts/checks payable to MSU for these buy-back programs, he took those checks to the MSU bursar’s office. Brixey falsely claimed that the sight drafts/checks were needed to pay students for books purchased in the buy-back program. The bursar’s office relied upon Brixey’s misrepresentations and provided cash to Brixey.

Brixey did not record the cash received in the MSU Bookstore accounting system, but instead used the cash for his personal benefit.

Count One: Wire Fraud

Brixey admitted that he executed the scheme to cause electronic transmissions related to the processing of sight drafts (in connection with the commissions and the purchase of textbooks).

Count Two: Money Laundering

Brixey admitted that he concealed his fraud scheme by disguising the proceeds through multiple financial transactions. Brixey routinely deposited the proceeds of his fraud scheme into Educational Credit Union accounts then transferred cash from those accounts to purchase and add value to certificates of deposit. Between Jan. 11, 2008, and July 16, 2012, Brixey made or caused to be made 55 transfers totaling $121,000 from Education Credit Union deposit accounts to Educational Credit Union certificates of deposit.

Count Three: Filing a False Tax Return

Brixey admitted that on April 15, 2011, he filed a tax return that failed to report approximately $194,521 in income received through the fraud scheme in 2010. Brixey also filed a tax return for 2011 that failed to report $192,202 of income from his fraud scheme and a tax return for 2009 that failed to report $166,354 of income from his fraud scheme.

Between 2009 and 2011, Brixey failed to report a total of $553,077 of income from his fraud scheme, resulting in a tax loss to the government of approximately $166,247 for those three years.

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Greene County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney.

Woman pleads guilty to PTA embezzlement in Missouri

With the outcome of a PTA embezzlement case finally decided, Blue Hills PTA president Chris Ford is ready to move forward.

“It has been a long and drawn-out process,” he said. “But I am glad it is over. I am glad for us, and I am glad for her. It is time to move forward and learn from this.”

Mary A. Ward, 32, of Independence, pleaded guilty Monday to theft of funds from the Blue Hills PTA account. She agreed to five years probation, with a suspended imposition of sentence (which means that if she successfully completes her probation she will not be imprisoned), 120 days of electronic home detention, 100 hours of community service and a letter of apology to the Blue Hills PTA.

Ward also agreed to not become involved in the handling of funds for any civic organization and agreed to repay Blue Hills the $22,000 she took from the account. The repayment included $15,000 that was paid on Monday, with the remaining balance to be paid at a rate of $120 per month.

Ward was treasurer for the Blue Hills PTA, which is in the Fort Osage School District, during the 2010-11 school year. When she left the position in summer 2011, the new treasurer reported that there was approximately a $22,000 discrepancy in the account. According to the Jackson County investigator’s report, Ward kept her own spreadsheet of the PTA finances, which she reported to the PTA board. However, the board members did not have access to the actual Bank of America statements.

It was also discovered that here was a check/debit card for the PTA account with Ward’s name on it. The executive board members were unaware of the card’s existence, which was not authorized.

Ford said the PTA has learned a lot since they were made aware of the bank account discrepancies. He said since that discovery, new safeguards have been put in place so that something like this cannot happen in the future.

“We definitely learned that you cannot be safe enough when dealing with money,” he said. “You have to have safeguards or a check and balance system in place to protect yourself. If we had done that from the beginning, this never would have happened in the first place.”

The PTA unit had been raising funds to implement a four-year plan to purchase an iPad cart for the school. However, since this incident occurred, the Fort Osage School District has started implementing its 1:1 program, which has the goal of putting a piece of technology such as a tablet or laptop in the hands of every student. Next year, every elementary school as well as Fire Prairie Middle School will have carts with Goggle Chromebooks available for teachers and students.

Ford said he is meeting with Blue Hills principal Monica Shane later this week to discuss what to do with the money that Ward has already paid back to the PTA.

“It is a large influx of money,” he said. “I am meeting with the principal to discuss what to do as we move forward. This is the school’s money, so it will be spent on something for the kids.”

Ex-St. Louis treasurer's employee guilty of taking public's money

 A former employee of the St. Louis Treasurer’s Office stole almost a quarter-million dollars from a struggling charter school and enjoyed a no-show public job worth more than $175,000 in salary over five years, a federal jury in St. Louis decided Tuesday.

After two hours of deliberation, jurors convicted Fred W. Robinson, 71, of all charges. One count of wire fraud and two counts of federal program theft involved embezzlement of money from the Paideia Academy, a failed charter school. Five counts of federal program theft were related to his treasurer’s office salary from 2006-10.

Robinson showed little reaction to the verdicts, looking around and sighing once. He could face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced July 19 by U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.

Afterward, Diane Dragan, one of his public defenders, would say only, “There will be an appeal.”

Robinson was fired from his city job a few days after newly elected Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones took office in January.

The eight-day trial shed new light on the operation of the office run for 31 years by Larry Williams, a personal friend of Robinson’s.

But it also may mark the end the investigation of Williams’ office. He was neither charged nor called as a witness by either side. Williams, a Democrat, did not seek re-election last year.

U.S. Attorney Richard G. Callahan issued a statement Tuesday that said: “No further charges are anticipated unless or until additional evidence is developed.”

In closing arguments and throughout the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith focused on Robinson, not the office.

“This defendant lived a life of fraud,” he told jurors, detailing Robinson’s no-show job and use of state and federal funds to buy and rehabilitate a building where he planned to open a day care center.

Prosecutors said he wanted to curry favor with the attractive bartender of a restaurant he frequented by getting her a job as the center’s director. Robinson and the friend were to collect salaries and split profits equally, according to testimony.

Goldsmith said that Robinson, chairman of Paideia’s board, at first tried to buy the proposed day care site from the city’s Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority, but was rejected for lack of assets.

“He turned to the only bucket of money he knew,” Goldsmith said, getting the Paideia board to authorize the purchase while knowing that the school’s “ship was sinking” and that the money was “desperately needed” by students.

Robinson was quoted as telling a police officer working undercover for the FBI: “I own this school,” and, “That board really serves at my pleasure.”

He applied for a license to open the day care in a building at 4028 West Florissant Avenue but concealed that fact — and that he had an ownership interest — from board members, school administrators, state officials and the school’s sponsors, Goldsmith said.

The prosecutor said Robinson shifted money among school accounts to pay the day care contractor, working “feverishly” to finish before Paideia ran out of money. And he did it despite being told that the education funds were only to be used for kindergarten through eighth grade, Goldsmith said.

Felicia Jones, a public defender, said one board member, a longtime Robinson friend, testified that the board did know about the day care and Robinson’s role in it.

The board and school officials knew Robinson wanted to open a “feeder” day care center to reach pre-kindergarten students and improve the educational level of students entering Paideia, she said.

It never opened.

NO-SHOW JOB

Prosecutors claimed since Robinson’s indictment in 2011 that he failed to do any work for the treasurer’s office from 2006-2010, while he was earning a $35,360 yearly salary. But Goldsmith and witnesses suggested it may have gone on for much longer.

Robinson’s former supervisor, Roy White, told jurors that he had been given the job of signing off on Robinson’s time sheets in the mid- to late 1990s, when Robinson supposedly worked 40-hour weeks driving city streets looking for parking-related problems. The treasurer’s office has authority over city parking issues.

White testified that he could not verify Robinson had done the work, and said Robinson’s “reports” of a sentence or two were of little or no value. He said he raised the concerns with Williams, who told him his only duty with regard to Robinson was ensuring that his weekly hours added up to 40.

White also told the court that the first time he assigned Robinson work was a surveillance job in response to a tip about thefts from a treasurer’s office building in 1998. Robinson complained that he felt threatened by gang members and said he would not be doing any more work for him, White said. Williams’ chief of staff, Tom Stoff, then called White into the office and told him not to assign work to Robinson again, White said.

Other current or former employees of the treasurer’s office said that they were not aware of Robinson’s role, never saw him and that his reports had no value, particularly after parking operations were outsourced in 2009.

FBI Special Agent Monique Comeau testified that a GPS device put on Robinson’s car showed he spent the bulk of his time at Paideia or the day care center, or traveling to the treasurer’s office for four or five minutes twice a month to pick up his check.

Dragan, the defense lawyer, did not challenge the allegations about Robinson’s failure to work. She attacked the underlying charge, saying that Robinson did not work for any entity that received federal funds. The treasurer’s Parking Division receives funds from tickets, meters and parking lots and is a separate agency, she argued.

“There are no federal funds missing,” she insisted.

Dragan offered an alternate path to an acquittal on those charges. She told jurors that if Robinson did no work, then he was not an agent or employee of anyone. “If you believe he was not truly an employee ... then you must find him not guilty of federal program theft.”

Jurors who agreed to talk after the verdict said they had expected to hear from Williams. Attorneys on both sides declined to comment on why he was not called. But as a matter of procedure, a lawyer in federal court is not supposed to call a witness with knowledge that the person plans to assert a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Jones, the new treasurer, contacted a reporter after the verdict to emphasize that Robinson had worked for her predecessor.

“One of the first things I did here was get rid of Mr. Robinson,” she said. Asked why, she responded that his position had been eliminated. Asked what position he held, she responded, “We don’t know.”

New details about Missouri State University embezzlement case, including Brixey's wife still employed at university

 Guilty-- that's how a former Missouri state university employee pleaded Tuesday to charges of stealing more than a million dollar dollars from the school.

The US attorney's office says 48-year-old Mark Brixey Embezzled for nearly ten years.  Tuesday the public learned when his scheme started, how it worked, and how much money he took every year.

Back in August MSU officials said Brixeym the former bookstore director, had stolen at least $400,000.  Tuesday we learned it was a whole lot more.

Wire fraud, money laundering, filing a false tax report-- the US attorney's office, the secret service, and local law enforcement say Brixey did all three.

"He repeatedly abused his position and exploited the weaknesses of the university's accounting system," explained Tammy Dickinson, the US Attorney for the Western District of Missouri during a news conference.

It began, according to Dickinson, in 2003 with nearly $29,000 stolen.  The dollar amount grew every year, peaking at over $194,000 in 2010 before Brixey resigned last August.

He got the money from checks that were written by textbook companies that participate in the university's book buy-back program.  The checks were made out to MSU so Brixey went to a different department to cash them.  He said he needed the money to give to students who were trying to sell their textbooks.  In 2011 one of those book companies started paying Brixey in cash.

Suspicious?  Officials wouldn't say.

"We're just here today to talk about the university as a victim," one of the assistant attorneys told reporters.

The ordeal has been tough for new university President Clif Smart.

"When we learned of that theft it was probably the saddest day I've had since I took this position," Smart remembered, and a rude awakening as well.

"The goal is to make sure there is no place on campus where we receive cash that is unsupervised." 

He's spent the year reviewing policies campus-wide making major changes to the bookstore specifically.

"Those actions range from better segregating duties of the people in the bookstore, new policies to eliminating exceptions, policies at the bursar's office, policies regarding transactions, to better oversight by the department of financial services," Smart listed.

All to ensure wire fraud, money laundering, and filing a false tax report are charges never again connected to MSU.

Brixey is out on bond but faces a 43 year prison sentence.  His attorney did not return our call Tuesday.
 
There is another sensitive issue at play here.  Mark Brixey's wife is a university employee in the admissions office.  As of right now that's not changing.  But Smart tells us in light of Brixey's guilty plea the university will have to decide what- if anything- she knew about the embezzling.

The university has a million dollar insurance policy to protect against employee theft.  Additionally, law enforcement recovered $144,000 of what Brixey stole.  So Smart is confident the university will recoop almost all of its money.

Woman sentenced for stealing $86K from church in Missouri

A northwest Missouri woman is going to prison for stealing slightly more than $86,000 from a church where she worked.
Forty-nine-year-old Pamela West was the business manager at Wyatt Park Christian Church in St. Joseph. She pleaded guilty in November to the theft.
The St. Joseph News-Press reports  Buchanan County Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg sentenced West on Thursday to the maximum term of seven years in prison.
Investigators said West stole the funds over a 16-month period starting in April 2011. She earned $27,000 a year at the church and spent the embezzled money for personal expenses.

Nancy O'Donnell sentenced for embezzling church funds in Missouri

A 53-year-old St. Peters woman was sentenced Thursday for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds to a St. Charles County church charity, US Attorney Richard Callahan said.
According to court documents, Nancy O'Donnell served as treasurer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a non-profit organization tied to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cottleville. The charity provides personal financial assistance with furniture, food, clothing, rent, utilities and other necessities to people facing economic and other crises.
The charity receives its funds primarily through donations by St. Joseph parishioners.
As treasurer of the charity, O'Donnell was placed in charge of financial record keeping and depositing funds to the group's bank account and keeping documented paperwork on all monetary movement.
On April 27, 2006, prosecutors said Nancy O'Donnell opened a sham checking account in the name of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, using her own home address as the business address on the account. O'Donnell would take donations given to her by parishioners and deposit them into either the sham account or her personal account. She then wrote checks on both the sham and personal accounts, either to herself or made to "cash," and would then use those funds for personal expenses.
Nancy O'Donnell was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $209,000 in restitution. Approximately $192,000 has already been repaid.

Woman Accused of Embezzling Thousands from St. Joseph Church in Missouri

FROM  StJoeChannel.com -

A business manager is accused of stealing more than $30,000 from a St. Joseph church.


Police arrested Pamela A. West, 49, Monday after receiving an embezzlement report from Wyatt Park Christian Church earlier this month.
West, a former business manager for the church, is now charged with felony stealing.

According to court documents, West used Wyatt Park's checking account and credit cards to pay her bills and make purchases.

The prosecutor's office alleges West forged another woman's name on checks from the church's account to pay her monthly rent, totaling $6,800 from Sept. 2011 to June 2012.

West is also accused of writing payroll checks to herself worth nearly $20,000.

Police said an anonymous tip helped uncover the mismanagement of funds.

Det. Richard Shelton said after the church learned of the allegations, they reviewed the books and noticed how much money was missing.
He said the church is still reviewing the funds.

West is being held at the Buchanan County jail on a $15,000 bond.

Stealing, Embezzlement Charges Brought Against Former Rockwood Science Head in Missouri

FROM http://eureka-wildwood.patch.com/ -

Michael Szydlowski, who previously led the Rockwood School District science department, was charged with allegedly stealing district-owned items and embezzling a significant sum of cash before he left the district's employment last June.

A former Rockwood School District leader, Michael Szydlowski, was set for a jury trial Monday morning in the St. Louis County Circuit Court in Clayton, due to charges of allegedly stealing district property prior to leaving Rockwood to assume a new job in Columbia Public Schools in Columbia, MO.

The situation started last summer after Szydlowski's last day of employment with Rockwood, June 30. Questionable charges and declines on the district's purchasing card for the science department caught the attention of Rockwood's Director of Finance K. Scott Tate. He and Kelvin McMillan, assistant superintendent of human resources, contacted police for assistance with what they stated they believed to be "illegal use" concerning the card.
Eureka Police Department reports indicate a $2,500 charge was attemped on Szydlowski's last day of Rockwood employment to Overstock.com, but was declined. A similar $2,000 attempted charge to Target also was declined that day. Lesser attempted charges, such as for a satellite radio subscription, also were cited. The charges were declined due to invalid security code entries after the card was returned to the district.
Eureka-Wildwood Patch attended what was supposed to be the trial starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, however neither set of attorneys were present when Judge Lawrence Permuyter Jr. concluded his docket and adjourned at approximately 11:15 a.m. Permuyter told Patch he assumed the case would be continued, or that the parties must have reached some sort of settlement.
Eureka city attorney Kathy Butler is prosecuting the case. Attorney William Goldstein of Clayton is representing Szydlowski. Calls to both attorneys Monday to inquire about the case's official status were not yet returned at the time of publishing.
The Columbia Public Schools online staff directory indicate Szydlowski is presently a K-12 science coordinator for the district.


Szydlowski's Rockwood Background:

Szydlowski joined Rockwood a few years ago to overhaul the district's elementary science curriculum.
One of his most notable changes and contributions to the district was the Rockwood mobile science lab, which at the time reportedly was the only one in Missouri owned by a school district. Click here for a video about the lab. It enabled Rockwood's 9,700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at the district's 19 elementary schools to visit it four times a year.
The mobile lab, which enamored many parents and teachers, was billed as a way to save the district money. It moved students from textbooks into its 11 hands-on workstations.
At the time, district spokespeople said its science textbooks were replaced every six years, costing $610,000 to buy new ones. Overall, the district saved $381,000 by overhauling its curriculum through the mobile lab, as reported in allBusiness.
However, this school year, the mobile lab is not in use, due to the district's budget challenges. Rockwood board of education directors told Patch that not all of the year-to-year maintenance costs for the mobile lab program were revealed at the time Szydlowski presented a case to invest in it.
Students and parents also may remember that Szydlowski was responsible for transferring the school building-centric approach to elementary science fairs to a St. Louis regional program. The switch decreased the number of individual students doing science fair projects, but promoted group-based projects at an annual, districtwide science night.

The Charges:

According to paperwork filed against Szydlowski Dec. 20, 2010, through the St. Louis County Municipal Division, Eureka's prosecutor Butler identified the following complaint charges, citing he "appropriated the property of the Rockwood School District without the consent or knowledge of the district by charging" the following:
•$13.65 on the district's credit card on March 11, 2010, to mail documents for seeking employment outside the district
•$176.95 on the same credit card for cordless drills and Quickfire Kits, and then allegedy taking them and all the following items after he left Rockwood's employment June 30
•$162.34 for a Panasonic portable DVD player
•$110 for a GPS device
•$199.99 for a version of Adobe Photoshop
•$454.14 for a GPS device used on a trip that occurred June 9-17, 2010

Missing District Science Inventory:

According to Eureka police reports, questions regarding the credit card purchases led to an online investigation of the UMB Bank database. Tate closed the actual card account, which was shared by four other district employees besides Szydlowski. Based on receipts and the district's financial accounting process, there were no other discrepancies with the other four card users, stated the police report.
However, the card process led to inventorying Rockwood's science items—leaving approximately $35,000 worth of items missing from the district's possession, indicated the police report.
Twenty days after leaving Rockwood, the police report indicated Szydlowski emailed district representatives on July 20, writing that he had found "several items that belonged to the district." The district's response was that the items had to be returned to the district by July 23.
The police report stated that Szydlowski visited Rockwood headquarters on July 21 to return "approximately $1,000 of property" and met with former Rockwood Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Carrie Luttrell, who informed him of the "misuse of district funds and purchasing card."
According to the report, he was given an opportunity to respond in a five-hour meeting, at which time he admitted to taking a list of specified district items, some of which were used at his home when he lived within the Rockwood School District. He also admitted to subscribing to certain memberships and extending two teacher trips, which cost the district additional funds.
Luttrell since left Rockwood this summer to join the Parkway School District as principal of Shenandoah Elementary in Chesterfield.



The report said Szydlowski indicated at the meeting he would like to make restitution to the district and "hoped the district would not choose to prosecute him."



Rockwood board of education directors then were contacted after the meeting, according to the police report, and informed of "statutes of the fraud." They then filed a complaint with Eureka police.



Legal Developments:



According to St. Louis County court documents, a certification hearing for this matter was scheduled for March 4, 2011. The hearing was continued and rescheduled for May 12, at which time a jury trial was scheduled for July 11. Then the case was continued until this Monday.

New workship center security program starting in St. Peters, Missouri

FROM http://www.stltoday.com/-

St. Peters police are starting a sort of neighborhood watch program to help houses of worship deal with crime.
Officer Melissa Doss plans a session July 16 to educate religious leaders on security procedures that could help them prevent theft, violence, embezzlement and other crimes. She said churches and other religious centers often are considered soft targets for criminals.
Their nature is to be open and inviting to anybody who walks through their doors," Doss said.
Doss said simple steps such as greeting everyone who enters a building and keeping rear or side entrances locked can make it harder for thieves who might want to steal musical instruments, computers or cash. Houses of worship should try to make the risks outweigh the rewards for a potential crime, she said.
Doss said she also will talk to leaders about background checks for people who work with children and accounting methods that can catch fraud or embezzlement.
She also hopes to help religious leaders share information with each other about crimes they have encountered in their congregations.
Several area police departments have similar programs in place. O'Fallon, Mo., Officer Phil Hardin said his department started Church Watch in August 2008 with a kickoff meeting attended by representatives of 14 congregations. Nearly 20 participate now, he said.
Hardin said partnerships between police and churches not only can prevent crime but also can make it easier to help people who find themselves in desperate need late at night or on weekends when other service agencies may be closed.
The Creve Coeur Police Department started working with houses of worship many years ago, said Officer Jonathan McIntosh. He said the partnerships also can help places like churches prepare for emergencies.
"During disasters, churches become centers not just of faith but centers of the community," he said.
Officer Rick Eckhard said St. Louis County police invite religious organizations to join their Business Watch program, and members can receive training during citizen police academies, the next of which begins Aug. 3.
Erica Van Ross, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department, said Sgt. Catherine Dennis provides training for houses of worship through the Community Outreach Unit.
Roger Richards, director of the Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, said his organization offered security programs after a church shooting in Marvyille in 2009. Terry Joe Sedlacek is charged with fatally shooting the Rev. Fred Winters during a service at First Baptist Church of Maryville. He also is accused of stabbing two other church members who rushed to Winters' aid.
Doss said a violent incident in March pushed her to move forward with plans to help houses of worship. Hallucinations from fake marijuana allegedly drove a man to attack two people at First Baptist Church in St. Peters on March 29.
Violent episodes might be relatively rare in religious buildings, Doss said, but thefts aren't as uncommon.
Criminals don't care," she said. "They look for the easiest marks."

MISSOURI WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO EMBEZZLING $140,000 FROM CHURCH, ORGANIZATION

Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Warrensburg, Mo., woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing nearly $140,000 from a church and a church organization in a securities fraud scheme.

Mary Earlene Judd, 60, of Warrensburg, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs on Thursday, April 21, 2011, to a federal information that charges her with forging the security instruments of an organization.
Judd served as treasurer for both the Missouri Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church in Knob Noster, Mo. The Missouri Presbytery is a governing organization of 25 Presbyterian churches in Missouri, including Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church. As treasurer, Judd had the authority to sign checks and paid bills and expenses.
Judd admitted that she stole money from Missouri Presbytery and from Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church by overstating her reimbursements for the cost of supplies she purchased, and wrote reimbursement checks for supplies that were never purchased. She also overstated or fabricated mileage and expenses for travel expenses and trips she never took. Judd admitted that she wrote checks to herself as well as to her husband and daughter, forged their names on the back of the checks and deposited the checks into her personal bank account.
Judd wrote $68,878 in checks from the Missouri Presbytery accounts and $51,045 in checks from the Pleasant Grove account for fictitious expenses or services, which were reported on the check memo line as salary, supplies, trip expenses, mileage, mowing, repairs and maintenance. Judd also made out checks to cash from the two accounts totaling $26,525, for a total loss of $139,734. Judd repaid some of the money, bringing the actual loss to $125,159.
Under federal statutes, Judd is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office

Former University President Indicted for Embezzling $1.5 Million in Kansas City

Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the former president and CEO of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) has been indicted by a federal grand jury for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the university. The alleged fraud scheme included unauthorized compensation payments as well as reimbursements from the university for personal expenses and fraudulent charitable contributions. The indictment also charges her with tax violations and money laundering.

Karen L. Pletz, 63, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a 24-count indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 30. Pletz was the president and CEO of KCUMB and was a member of the board of trustees of KCUMB from 1995 until December 2009. The federal indictment was unsealed and made public today following Pletz’s initial court appearance.
The federal indictment describes a scheme in which Pletz embezzled from KCUMB by wrongfully receiving $1,525,791 in payments from the osteopathic medicine and life sciences school.
The federal indictment charges Pletz with 16 counts of stealing from the university, one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of internal revenue, three counts of making false statements on tax returns, and four counts of money laundering.

Unauthorized Pay: $1,409,500

The federal indictment alleges that Pletz wrongfully obtained $1,409,500 from KCUMB in unauthorized additional pay for herself from October 2002 to December 2009. Pletz allegedly caused minutes of KCUMB executive committee meetings to be created when the meetings did not actually occur. Minutes for nine meetings were allegedly created, at which the only business ever reported was to purportedly authorize payments to Pletz. These payments were sometimes referred to as “leadership stipends” or “leadership compensation,” the indictment says, and were usually in the form of $65,000 lump sum payments.



Travel and Entertainment Reimbursements: $50,291

The federal indictment alleges that Pletz submitted numerous fraudulent vouchers to receive reimbursements from KCUMB. These vouchers allegedly claimed business purposes for expenditures, when in reality the expenditures were for her personal travel and entertainment.
The indictment alleges that in 2007 Pletz received reimbursements for personal travel to Harbor Beach Marriott Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to visit her parents; to Four Seasons Hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyo., to visit a friend; and to Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms in Charleston, S.C., to visit high school friends. Pletz allegedly received an $11,846 reimbursement for items purchased at a Vera Wang boutique at Halekulani Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pletz allegedly did not declare the $50,291 total income she received from KCUMB as a result of these reimbursements on her federal income tax returns.
According to the indictment, Pletz received a total of $1,074,917 in unreported income from disallowed travel and entertainment claims, which led to a tax loss to the United States of at least $280,000.

Charitable Reimbursements: $65,000

The federal indictment alleges that Pletz signed and filed tax returns for 2003 through 2006 in which she falsely claimed itemized deductions for charitable contributions that she did not make. In reality, the indictment says, KCUMB—not Pletz—actually made the contributions. According to the indictment, Pletz claimed $565,628 worth of fraudulent charitable deductions to such organizations as the United Way, Lyric Opera, the Deron Cherry Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Truman Medical Center.
Among those fraudulent charitable contributions, the indictment says, was $65,000 in contributions to Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kan., actually made by KCUMB. Pletz allegedly received reimbursements from KCUMB for those contributions over a three-year period, but failed to report the $65,000 as income.
In February 2004, the indictment says, Pletz pledged $20,000 to Benedictine, and requested that Benedictine use her home address for all correspondence regarding the gift. In March 2004, Pletz allegedly submitted to KCUMB a claim for reimbursement for $20,000, attaching to the claim a copy of her personal check in the amount of $20,000, made payable to Benedictine College. KCUMB paid Pletz $20,000. However, according to the indictment, Benedictine never received Pletz’s personal check and the check never cleared her bank account. In June 2004, at Pletz’s direction, Benedictine charged Pletz’s KCUMB credit card $10,000 in two installments. Pletz allegedly claimed this $20,000 donation as a charitable contribution deduction on her 2004 tax return, but did not claim the $20,000 income she received from the fraudulent reimbursement. This scheme was repeated in 2005 with another $20,000 fraudulent claim for reimbursement for KCUMB’s contribution to Benedictine, the indictment says, and in 2006 with a $25,000 fraudulent claim for reimbursement for KCUMB’s contribution to the college.

Money Laundering

The indictment charges Pletz with four counts of money laundering related to monetary transactions in criminally derived property, with the funds having been derived from an unlawful activity. On four separate occasions, Pletz allegedly transferred funds obtained by theft from her bank account to American Express or, on one occasion, to an individual for the purchase of antiques.

Forfeiture

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Pletz to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including a 2002 Lexus convertible and $39,337 from her bank account, which were seized by federal agents on Oct. 7, 2010, when they executed seizure warrants under a federal civil forfeiture, as well as an $830,000 money judgment and Pletz’s condominium on the Plaza.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Mahoney and Linda Parker Marshall. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General -Investigations.

School employee under investigation for embezzlement in Steelville, Missouri

Long-time Steelville School District board secretary and bookkeeper Crystal Bouse is reportedly being investigated for an alleged embezzlement of school funds.




Although officials with the district would not confirm that Bouse is the subject of the investigation, Superintendent Nathan Holder did say a district employee has been placed on unpaid leave pending the results of an investigation being conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Numerous sources with close ties to the district have said that Bouse is that employee.



A statement from the superintendent’s office released Monday reported that on Tuesday, Dec. 21, the district was informed by the Highway Patrol of a possible criminal situation wherein a district employee was allegedly stealing school funds.



“The employee was immediately removed from the district and access to district technology was terminated,” Holder reported in a prepared statement. “The district is cooperating with law enforcement to investigate the allegations and to ensure that, if any district funds were taken, all such funds are returned.”



Holder added that the district maintains a bond on all of its employees. The district’s bonding company has been notified and Holder was assured the district will not suffer a loss of funds.



“As the investigation proceeds, we will notify our patrons and media,” Holder said.



Holder added that the district is strongly considering a forensic audit that would provide much more detail into its financial practices. Such an audit would entail a thorough investigation, providing a broader depth of information about the district’s policies and procedures related to school funds.



Charges have yet to be filed as a result of the investigation, which remains ongoing. As of Tuesday, Bouse was still listed on the school’s website as the board secretary and district bookkeeper.