Owensville woman charged with embezzlement, theft from local manufacturers

By Dave Marner, Managing Editor
Posted 11/9/22

An Owensville woman charged Nov. 2 in a felony Gasconade County warrant alleging stealing and forgery from her former employer was scheduled to be arraigned this morning (Wednesday) in Associate …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Owensville woman charged with embezzlement, theft from local manufacturers

Posted

An Owensville woman charged Nov. 2 in a felony Gasconade County warrant alleging stealing and forgery from her former employer was scheduled to be arraigned this morning (Wednesday) in Associate Circuit Court.

Kimberly Ann Milare, 62, was released from the Osage County Jail in Linn on a $25,000 surety bond posted on her behalf.  Milare is accused of stealing $225,503.70 from 2016 to September 2022 using 698 checks fraudulently obtained from her employer, Walk Easy Manufacturing, according to a forensic examination of bank records by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control (DDCC).

Milare was charged with the class C felony alleging theft of more than $25,000, and two counts of the class D felony of forgery, following a month-long investigation by the DDCC at the request of the Owensville police department. 

Milare is accused of forging 645 checks from 2016 until she resigned as office manager on Sept. 30. The company’s owners conducted an internal audit of the firm’s finances and realized 126 checks were written to Milare in 2022 including 12 she allegedly forged in her final month of employment.

City Marshal Robert Rickerd said he was contacted by the owners of Walk Easy to look into allegations of “several forged checks.” In the Probable Cause Statement filed as an affidavit for the warrant, the alleged victims are identified only by their initials.

Rickerd said he sought assistance from the MSHP “due to the severity” of the crime. Milare was questioned Nov. 1 and  police obtained the warrant the following day.

According to the MSHP investigation, Milare allegedly cashed 11 fraudulently issued checks in 2016 totalling $1,800. None of the checks had been forged.

That trend apparently changed, however, in 2017 when 65 checks were fraudulently issued to Milare totalling $12,168.50. There were 38 checks found to have been forged.

In 2018, she cashed 85 checks which totalled $23,221.02. An owner’s signature was forged on 80 of them.

In 2019, 115 checks were fraudulently issued totalling $33,895.75. An owner’s signature was forged on 105 of the checks.

During 2020, investigators found 158 checks were fraudulently issued in the amount of $53,188.40. Investigators noted owner signatures were forged on 143 of the checks.

And in 2021, the DDCC investigation reveals 154 checks were fraudulently issued adding up to $56,503.74. With the exception of one check, all of the rest were found to have forged signatures.

“This case resulted in a final sum, well into six figures,”said Rickerd. “This entire incident is just gut-wrenching, to say the least, for the victims who have been blind-sided after their discovery. I want to thank the Gasconade County Prosecutor’s office for their quick response, reference getting charges filed, and to the MSHP investigator for his help in this matter.”

Milare did not have an attorney listed in court records. Her arraignment was scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 9.