A Mount Vernon woman was sentenced yesterday for embezzling more than $781,000 from the University of Missouri over a 13-year period.
Carla Rathmann, 55, was sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $781,670 in restitution. She pleaded guilty in June to one count of mail fraud and one count of credit card fraud, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Rathmann worked for the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon as administrative officer from January 2000 until September 2015, when officials discovered she used her university credit card for personal expenses. In her role, she was responsible for receiving and paying pills, accounting, payroll, scheduling meetings and organizing staff.
In total, Rathmann embezzled $781,670, mostly by submitting fake and fraudulent invoices and bills via shell companies to Mizzou.
In 2005, Rathmann registered three fake companies with the Missouri secretary of state’s office: R&R, R&R Argi and Garrett Farm and Oil. Between Jan. 24, 2005, and June 18, 2014, she issued bills and invoices in the names of the companies to the Southwest Research Center for work she said the companies performed. According to the sentencing statements, the businesses never provided any products or services to Mizzou’s center in Mount Vernon. The total she embezzled through the scheme was $570,521, according to Dickinson’s office.
In her role as administrative officer, Rathmann often personally approved the fraudulent invoices and bills, causing Mizzou to write checks to her fictitious companies. The money was then deposited into her personal bank account.
Rathmann also admitted she used her university credit card to pay $146,144 in personal expenses. The embezzled funds were used for such expenses as gambling at casinos, purchasing cars and high-end appliances, paying for a home remodel and taking vacations, according to the release.
April 7 was the official opening day for Mexican-Italian fusion restaurant Show Me Chuy after a soft launch that started March 31; marketing agency AdZen debuted; and the Almighty Sando Shop opened a brick-and-mortar space.
