SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A woman from Ash Grove pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday for stealing nearly $480,000 from her employer in Nixa in a fraud scheme. Carla Jean Wilson, 53, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr to a federal information that charges her with forging checks from her employer and with filing a false tax return.
Wilson, an accountant, was employed at Kitchenland USA as an office manager beginning in August 2004 until she was terminated on Sept. 20, 2010.
By pleading guilty, Wilson admitted she was involved in a scheme to embezzle funds from Kitchenland between Jan. 19, 2007, and Sept. 20, 2010. During that time period, Wilson obtained signed bank checks drawn on Kitchenland’s bank account, which she made payable to herself. Wilson received a total of $479,803 in unauthorized payments from checks drawn on Kitchenland’s account.
