Former club director charged with fraud, laundering

Robert A. Clay, 52, of Joplin, waived his right to a grand jury trial and pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering between August 1998 and March 2004, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Missouri.

Clay served as executive director of the club from the late 1980s to Nov. 20, 2003, and oversaw the organization’s general operating bank account.

According to court documents, Clay opened a money market account at the First State Bank of Joplin on Nov. 14, 1997, in order to receive a $20,000 federal grant. The grant was to be used to establish a Boys and Girls Club in Miami, Okla., and, after the grant was distributed, the account was to be closed. Clay kept the account open without the knowledge of the club’s board of directors.

Over the next six years, Clay allegedly deposited into the First State account $597,749 in contributions, grants and donations, all of which should have been deposited into the club’s general operating account at U.S. Bank in Joplin, according to court documents. Clay allegedly withdrew $597,698 from the First State account and used a portion of it for his own benefit, documents state.

One count against Clay charges him with wire fraud for redirecting a $50,500 grant to the First State account. A second count charges him with money laundering for transferring that grant money into a personal account.

Clay could be sentenced to up to 40 years in federal prison without parole. He also could be fined up to $500,000 and forced to pay restitution. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.