Former City Clerk In Havana, KS Charged With Embezzlement

WICHITA, KAN. - A former city clerk for the city of Havana, Kan., was charged Monday with embezzling funds from the city and her church, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Diana L. Cox, 67, Havana, Kan., was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita alleges Cox stole approximately $14,658 from the city of Havana in August 2011 while she was city clerk. The thefts took place after she falsely reported to Arvest Bank in Caney, Kan., that the city had changed its policy to require only one signature on checks written for city business. The charges also allege she devised a scheme to steal more than $44,568 from Cross Point Baptist Church in Caney, Kan. She transferred money from church’s accounts to make her daughter’s mortgage payment.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.