KCK friends who stole $1M in years-long scheme head to prison: ‘thick as thieves’
Two former bookkeepers for Wyandotte County District Court and longtime best friends accused of stealing nearly $1 million from the court have been sentenced to prison terms.
On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced Julia Roberts, 65, of Leavenworth, to 3 years and 5 months in prison, and Vicki Robinson, 53, of Bonner Springs, to 2 years and 3 months in prison. Both pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, in January.
Prosecutors said Roberts was an accounting supervisor responsible for collecting and depositing funds in the court’s bank account and acted as Robinson’s superior until she retired in 2020. The two allegedly stole incoming cash and concealed the thefts by generating checks and forging the court clerk’s signature. They then fabricated information on the checks to make them appear to be judgment disbursements or other legitimate court business, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the scheme resulted in a loss of about $980,000 to the court from 2018 to 2023. The two women were ordered to pay back the same amount in restitution to the court.
Defense attorneys for both women did not respond to requests for comment.
“Roberts and Robinson worked together, stole together, and together conspired to cover up their crimes,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said in a statement. “They were as thick as thieves, and now the two thieves are headed to prison for stealing from the Wyandotte County District Court.”
“Public trust is the foundation of an effective government,” Chris Ormerod, FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge, said in a statement. “When public servants betray that trust for personal financial gain, they compromise the integrity of the institutions they are sworn to serve. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: the FBI has zero tolerance for this. Anyone who exploits public office for personal enrichment will be thoroughly investigated, held accountable, and brought to justice.”
In a sentencing memorandum, Laquisha Ross, Roberts’ attorney, asked for a sentence of five years of probation, pointing to health issues her client was dealing with and noting her lack of a criminal history. She said Roberts began her career with the court in 1981 and took advantage of her position to access the funds starting five years before she retired in 2020. Ross wrote that Robinson continued with the scheme after Roberts retired.
“Such a sentence would place Julia in the best position to repair the harm she caused to the Wyandotte County Clerk’s Office,” Ross wrote. “It would reflect the seriousness of Julia’s offense while taking into consideration her age and physical condition, nonexistent criminal history, and her ability to pay restitution over a longer period of time.”
Noting Roberts’ request, Branden Bell, Robinson’s attorney, requested a sentence less than whatever it was that Roberts would receive, saying that Roberts was the “architect” of the scheme and accounted for most of the loss. Robinson also had health issues, had no criminal record and was recruited into the scheme by her closest friend of more than 30 years, Bell said.
“Vicki Robinson does not seek to escape the consequences of what she did,” Bell wrote. “She betrayed the public’s trust and stole money. Not once. Not twice. But several times. There is no excuse for what she did.”
The Star’s Sofi Zeman contributed reporting.
