Diane Maxine Richards, age 60, was sentenced to 9.25 years in prison after stealing more than a million dollars from the City of Kingman. Richards must also pay $1,113,589 in restitution to the City of Kingman and forfeit her state retirement benefits.
In August 2017, Richards pleaded guilty to 4 counts of Theft, all class 2 felonies. In September 2015, Special Agents with the Attorney General’s Office and ICE Homeland Security Investigations launched an investigation after financial institutions reported unusual activity involving Richards’ bank accounts.
Investigators found Richards misused a City of Kingman credit card to pay for her personal expenses from July 2007 through January 2015. Those personal expenses include payments to Richards’ personal cell phone, utility, and car insurance bills. Richards submitted falsified invoices to account for the charges. She also used the City of Kingman credit card to pay off cash advances taken out at various casinos.
The total amount Richards spent on the City of Kingman credit card is $121,862. Richards also misappropriated $991,727 from an Employee Benefits Trust account.
Richards will serve 7 years of probation upon her release from prison.