Woman is sentenced for theft from Reliant Financial Services

A former employee of Reliant Financial Services in Kansas City was sentenced Wednesday to two years and three months in prison for stealing more than $470,000 from the company.

Kimberly J. Padgett, 43, also was ordered to make restitution of $471,000.

Padgett, a former Belton resident now living in Osawatomie, Kan., pleaded guilty in November in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to five counts of wire fraud.

At Reliant, Padgett managed the books, paid the bills, managed the accounts receivable, operated the telephones and prepared paychecks. She was also a signer on the business’s bank accounts and had use of its credit cards for authorized expenses.

According to her plea agreement, Padgett admitted to stealing money from 2007 until March 2015, when her thefts were discovered.

She took the money from a Reliant bank account used for payroll taxes and office supplies, and she deposited money into her PayPal account and her husband’s bank account.

Prosecutors said she used the money to support a “lavish lifestyle.” She paid for numerous trips for herself and others and bought items like jewelry and clothing.

Company officials discovered the thefts after the IRS contacted the company about its unpaid payroll taxes.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Woman is sentenced for theft from Reliant Financial Services."