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Former Benton County Accountant Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — A former accounting specialist for Benton County has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1 million in public funds over a 10-yea...
51-Connie Guild(e)

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — A former accounting specialist for Benton County has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1 million in public funds over a 10-year period, according to federal prosecutors.

Connie Guild, 52, pleaded guilty April 13 to one count of theft concerning programs that receive federal funds and one count of filing a false income tax return, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Arkansas said in a press release.

Guild, who was fired last fall, stole $1,033,762.20 from Benton County.

In 2007, Guild was put in charge of the county’s travel fund. Over the next decade, she began submitting false claims for the fund to the county treasurer, who would then write Guild a check to cover the inflated expenses.

Guild then cashed the checks and deposited the excess funds into her personal bank account, according to the press release.

Guild will be sentenced at a later date and faces up to 13 years in prison and fines of $350,000. Guild also agreed to repay the money she stole, according to court documents.

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