Former MU financial officer accused of stealing pleads guilty to multiple felonies, sentenced to probation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former financial officer at the University of Missouri’s School of Engineering pleaded guilty on Monday to multiple felonies.

Brandon Guffey, of Centralia, pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing more than $25,000, two counts of felony fraudulent use of a credit/debit device and one count of misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit/debit device. Guffey was sentenced to five years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a suspended sentence of 10 years.

According to previous reporting, Guffey was accused of selling a 98-inch television that belonged to MU for $1,000, sold a number of university-owned iPads to employees at discounted prices, took two chairs and used credit cards assigned to the university for personal purchases.

He was accused of paying for his daughter’s horse-riding lessons using a university credit card and forged a receipt to turn into MU, according to court documents through previous reporting.

Losses from the offenses totaled more than $32,000, according to previous reporting. The discovery of Guffey's alleged impropriety launched an MU audit that ended with three other College of Engineering employees being fired, previous reporting indicates. The audit resulted in MU finding more than $30,700 was stolen from the university from electronic equipment theft or unauthorized purchases and another $132,000 of alleged theft being reported.