Former MU engineering official charged with felony stealing, credit card fraud
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A former official in the University of Missouri's College of Engineering has been charged with stealing from the school after investigations by MU and the highway patrol.
Brandon J. Guffey, 40, of Centralia, was charged in Boone County on Wednesday with felony stealing, forgery and two counts of credit card fraud -- one felony, one misdemeanor.
The university initiated an investigation in January and turned over 19 allegations to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to a probable cause statement. Among them were that Guffey sold a 98-inch TV that belonged to the college for $1,000; sold iPads owned by the college to employees at discounted prices; took two chairs from the college; and used credit cards assigned to the college for personal purchases.
The allegations include that he paid for his daughter's horse riding lessons using a college card. The horse farm owner told highway patrol investigators that Guffey forged a receipt to turn in to the college, according to the probable cause statement.
The patrol estimated the losses from the offenses identified by MU investigators at more than $32,000.
The discovery of Guffey's alleged impropriety launched an MU audit that ended with three other College of Engineering employees being fired. It wasn't clear Thursday whether those people are being investigated criminally.
MU said that its audit found more than $30,700 was stolen from the university from electronic equipment theft or unauthorized purchases. Another $132,000 of alleged theft is under investigation by law enforcement, the university said at the end of June. The investigation began after an employee shared suspicions about mismanagement.
The highway patrol began its investigation in January, a patrol spokesman said in June.
The university has said it will implement annual training, conduct regular financial audits of schools and colleges and identify workers who will have periodic background and credit checks.
Guffey, who was the college's director of financial services, was paid about $124,000 per year and had worked at MU since 2006.
Guffey pleaded not guilty Thursday through his attorney, Christopher Slusher, according to online court records. It was not clear whether he had been arrested or booked into jail.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
