Kim Weinrich, 67, of Mustang, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making a false tax return, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma on December 13.
Weinrich, who worked as the payroll supervisor for Mustang Public Schools (MPS) from 2014 and was promoted to director of payroll services in 2021, was responsible for managing the district’s payroll system. Between 2016 and 2022, she used her position to manipulate the MPS payroll software, inflating her own pay and diverting the funds to her personal account.
Her actions led to the underreporting of federal and state tax withholdings for several MPS employees, reducing their tax refunds. The total amount defrauded from MPS amounted to $471,657.91.
Additionally, Weinrich altered payroll records to make it appear that she had paid significant federal income taxes, when, in fact, no such payments were made. On April 5, 2022, she filed a tax return falsely reporting an income of $91,295, well below what she had actually earned from her fraudulent actions.
At her plea hearing, Weinrich admitted to inflating her payroll amounts, altering tax records, and submitting false tax returns. She faces up to 23 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $350,000 at sentencing.