Kansas woman stole $400K in gold and silver coins from elderly couple, prosecutors say
A woman was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for transporting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of collector coins stolen in Kansas to Missouri to sell them.
Amanda Rutherford, 46 of Junction City, was sentenced on one charge of interstate transport of stolen goods, according to a May 13 news release from the U.S. District court of the Western District of Missouri.
In 2022, Dickinson County law enforcement received a report that $400,000 in gold and silver coins, along with other items, were stolen from a couple in their late eighties living in a central Kansas farmhouse, records say.
Rutherford lived at the farmhouse where she said she acted as an informal caretaker for the couple, according to court documents.
In March 2024, law enforcement received a tip that Rutherford had sold 235 rare coins at a Liberty jewelry store, according to the sentencing memorandum. In exchange, she received checks adding up to $100,000, documents say.
Police searched Rutherford’s car and found $95,400 in cash and additional coins, the memorandum said. The couple identified the coins in Rutherford’s car as ones they reported as stolen in 2022, according to the press release.
After pleading guilty in November, Rutherford was ordered to serve six years in prison and three years of supervised release and pay $165,000 in restitution, according to court documents.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 11:22 AM.
