SCHUYLER COUNTY, MO. -- UPDATED: December 19 at 3:14 p.m.
Former Schuyler County Collector Kathy Roberts has entered a plea of guilty Monday morning in a federal courtroom.
Roberts entered the plea to one count of mail fraud. According to court documents, Roberts received cash payments for county taxes and used the money for personal purposes instead of depositing the money into the county’s bank account. Additionally on some occasions, Roberts issued Schuyler County checks to herself and deposited them into her own bank account without the authority of the county. A total of over a half million dollars was taken in the crime.
Mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines of up to $250,000. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2012.
Roberts is still facing state charges. A new judge has been assigned in that case. Her state case will now be heard by Linn County Circuit Judge Gary Ravens.
(Information courtesy of our sister station KTVO in Kirksville, Mo.)
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UPDATED: December 14 at 12:08 p.m.
The Schuyler County Clerk, Commissioners and Prosecuting Attorney have released the following statement:
December 14, 2011
While we understand and accept the report of the State Auditor with respect to the recent audit of Schuyler County, it is interesting to note that the Collector had passed at least four previous State Audits without detection of any problems by the auditor.
Further, in none of those audits was any suggestion made by the auditors that duties in the Collector’s office should be separated or that any additional oversight from the County Clerk or County Commissioners was needed.
New measures and procedures have been taken to protect Schuyler County from future problems such as this.
Sincerely,
Schuyler County Clerk (Bree Shaw)
Schuyler County Commissioners (Donald Crabtree and James Werner)
Schuyler County Prosecuting Attorney (H. Scott Summers)
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More than half a million dollars in tax receipts are missing from Schuyler County.
Findings in the most recent State Auditor audit of the Schuyler County Collector and Property Tax System have been released.
In the areas audited, the overall performance was poor.
State Auditor Thomas A. Schweich revealed that property tax receipts totaling at least $568,974 are missing and that a lack of oversight and a failure to segregate duties allowed the missing monies to go undetected. At this time, because of inadequate and incomplete records, the auditors could not determine whether additional monies are missing.
Law enforcement authorities were alerted and criminal charges were filed against the former county collector, Kathy Sue Roberts.
In a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, it was released that "The indictment alleges that she issued the county residents tax receipts for the cash payments, but did not include copies of those tax receipts with other tax receipts used to reconcile the monthly tax income and bank deposit for the county. In order to conceal her scheme, Roberts made sure that delinquent tax notices were not sent out to those residents who had paid their taxes. Additionally, the indictment states that on some occasions, Roberts issued Schuyler County checks to herself and deposited them into her own personal bank account without the authority of the county." Click here to read more on the federal indictment.
In other findings as part of the audit, the State Auditor's office found that proper internal controls over receipts were not followed and at June 30, 2011, identified liabilities exceeded the adjusted bank balance by $18,665.
The former county collector withheld commissions at a higher rate than allowed by law, which she remitted to the general revenue fund and the county did not have up-to-date written agreements for its property tax collection services as is required by state law.
To view the complete report, click here.
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