Former Kitchenland USA employee pleads guilty to fraud

An Ash Grove woman pleaded guilty late last week to stealing nearly $480,000 from her Nixa employer, Kitchenland USA Inc.

Carla Jean Wilson, 53, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to federal information charging her with forging checks and filing false tax returns, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Wilson, an accountant who was employed by Kitchenland as office manager from August 2004 until her September 2010 termination, admitted she embezzled funds from the company between Jan. 19, 2007, and Sept. 20, 2010.

Through the scheme, Wilson took checks drawn on Kitchenland's bank account and made them payable to herself, receiving $479,803 in unauthorized payments, the release said.

Wilson also admitted in her guilty plea to failing to report embezzled funds as income on federal tax returns filed 2007-10. In 2009, she failed to report roughly $223,776 in income she received as a result of the fraud scheme.

Under federal statutes, Wilson could be sentenced to up to 13 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of up to $350,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after completion of the presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Oliver and was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.