Jury finds former KCPD officer guilty of defrauding anti-crime charity over $200,000
A federal grand jury on Thursday found a former Kansas City police officer guilty of defrauding an anti-crime charity of more than $200,000 and spending money he raised on himself, federal prosecutors said.
The jury, which deliberated for nine hours before returning with the verdict, found 47-year-old Aaron Wayne McKie guilty of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
McKie faces up to 20 years in federal prison without the chance for parole on each of the 10 counts. A sentencing date has not been set.
McKie, who joined the Kansas City Police Department in April 1999, spent much of his tenure with the department’s Crime Free Multi-Housing unit, where he was assigned from 2002 to 2023. The unit provides training to landlords and tenants to reduce crime and create safer neighborhoods.
From 2009 to 2023, McKie also served as president of Mid-America Crime Free Inc., a non-profit organization claiming to train those in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs.
Evidence during the trial showed that McKie devised a scheme to defraud the charity and its donors that began in July 2009 and continued until October 2023. Individuals and businesses donated $387,620 to the charity, which did not include in-kind donations.
Evidence showed that McKie spent at least $200,060 on his own expenses.
The charity used an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament” to raise the bulk of its funding. Individuals and businesses donated both money and other items, such as food and beverages. Investigators were able to identify at least 121 donors.
He advertised that money raised at an annual golf tournament was going toward seminars for rental property owners and to train police officers. But the police department paid for those expenses because they were part of the officers’ jobs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The Kansas City Police Department learned of the potential fraud in September 2023, a police spokesman said when the charges were announced in April. McKie was suspended and investigators forwarded the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
McKie remained on suspension until he left on Sept. 11, 2024, according to Capt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for Kansas City police.
Becchina said Missouri laws prohibit the police department from disclosing whether McKie left voluntarily or the police department terminated his employment.
The police department also declined to comment on the conviction. Becchina referred to previous comments and information released earlier.
In December 2021, members of the Board of Police Commissioners, the governing body that oversees the police department, commended McKie for his work with the Crime Free Multi-Housing unit, saying it was an example of outstanding policing efforts.
The police department previously had said that each patrol division had officers assigned to the initiative.
When McKie was charged, police spokesman Sgt. Phil DiMartino said no other police officers were placed on leave, and the investigation “centered around one member.”
