Former Kingman finance director charged with stealing more than $1 million from city coffers
KINGMAN, Ariz. – A former interim finance director for the city of Kingman charged with stealing more than $1 million from the city was arrested Wednesday, following an investigation by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Diane Maxine Richards 60, of Kingman, was indicted Jan. 12 by a state grand jury on 23 felony counts – including theft, forgery and misuse of public money. Richards is currently in custody at the Mohave County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
“Protecting the hardworking taxpayers of Arizona is a top priority,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Taxpayers are the real victims in cases involving theft and misuse of public monies. Our office will continue to work with HSI and all law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute these cases.”
“As a federal law enforcement agency, we have a responsibility to combat fraud and ensure taxpayers’ dollars are not being misspent,” said Matthew Allen, special agent in charge for HSI Phoenix. “Serious consequences await those who seek to exploit their positions of trust and authority for personal gain. HSI will continue to work with our partners to investigate and bring the offenders to justice.”
According to the indictment, investigators found that from July 2007 through January 2015, Richards used a city of Kingman credit card to pay for her personal expenses – including personal cell phone, utility and auto insurance bills – and submitted falsified invoices to account for the charges. Richards also allegedly used her employer’s credit card to pay off cash advances taken out at various Nevada casinos. The unauthorized charges on her city of Kingman credit card totaled more than $120,000.
Court documents indicate that from September 2008 to November 2015, Richards misappropriated close to $1 million from a bank account used by the city of Kingman to fund its Employee Benefits Trust, and transferred money out of the city bank account to pay off 17 personal lines of credit – much of it to cover cash advances taken out on Richards’ credit cards at the casinos. This conduct continued until Richards was terminated in November 2015, following the execution of search warrants at her home and Kingman City Hall. The indictment alleges Richards misused her position as the security manager on the bank account to alter the access settings, and granted herself sole authority to initiate and approve transactions.
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