St. Louis-area bookkeeper sentenced for stealing $670,000

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis-area bookkeeper has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for stealing $670,000 from a trust fund that provided money for several charities. Paula K. Smith of O’Fallon, Missouri, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court. She pleaded guilty in July to mail fraud and money laundering charges. Smith worked at an accounting firm that managed a client’s trust fund. Federal prosecutors say that from October 2013 to June 2018, Smith wrote checks amounting to $670,000 to herself from the trust fund that had over 20 beneficiaries, including 12 charitable organizations. In addition to the prison time, Smith must repay the money.