A Kansas woman pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return related to a scheme to embezzle money from the Johnson County District Court in Olathe, Kansas. Court documents indicate that Dawna Kellogg stole at least $776,691.50 in cash while employed in the accounting department at the Johnson County District Court. As the Accounting Supervisor for the Court, Kellogg managed the accounting department, collected funds from each separate county system, recorded funds collected, processed daily reports, and deposited the collected funds into the Court’s bank account. The Court utilized a case management system named the Justice Information Management System (JIMS), which had an accounting function to maintain the Court’s financial transactions.
Kellogg stole cash that the Court received, such as bail bond payments, and either spent or deposited the embezzled proceeds into her personal accounts. Kellogg concealed the stolen cash by two primary means: (1) manipulating an unclaimed property account and (2) creating an open payable in the JIMS system and then issuing a check that was both drawn on and deposited into the Court’s bank account, which created a corresponding debit and credit and thus no increase or decrease in the amount under deposit.
Kellogg pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. As part of her plea agreement, Kellogg agreed to not contest that the total loss resulting from the scheme to defraud was $1,135,988.13, which consists of $359,296.63 from 2007 through 2009 and $776,691.50 from 2010 through June 2017. Sentencing is scheduled for August.
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