$5 million embezzlement from architecture firm spurs prison term for former worker

A Lee’s Summit woman was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for embezzling more than $5 million from a Kansas City area architectural firm.

Jane Barnes stole the money while working as office manager for ACI Boland Architects.

Barnes, 54, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City where she pleaded guilty in August to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

She was ordered to pay $5,293,300 in restitution.

She has already made partial restitution by turning over three properties bought or improved with stolen money as well as her profit-sharing account from the company.

The plea agreement also called for her to forfeit a 2014 Ford F-150 Crew Cab Raptor, a 2014 Ford Explorer Utility 4D Sport and a 2013 Lincoln MKS.

Barnes had worked at the firm from 1998 until she resigned last March.

The thefts occurred over a 10-year period and involved two different schemes, according to federal prosecutors.

In one, she utilized the company payroll system from 2006 to 2011 to pay herself to pay herself at least $1,622,078 in unauthorized salary and bonus pay.

In the second scheme, Barnes issued more than 300 unauthorized payroll checks to herself totaling $3,671,222.

Barnes forged a company official’s signature on the checks and deposited them in a personal account.

That scheme lasted from 2010 until her resignation.

Barnes used the embezzled money to make $1.9 million in credit card payments and gave $770,393 to relatives. She also spent more than $425,000 for entertainment, travel and retail purchases, and more than $424,000 for vehicles and vehicle expenses.

This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 4:36 PM with the headline "$5 million embezzlement from architecture firm spurs prison term for former worker."