Former Housing Director in Liberal Sentenced for Wire Fraud

A former executive director of the housing authority for the city of Liberal, Kan., was sentenced to a year on federal supervised release and 250 hours of community service for wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Carol Beckwith, 64, Eufaula, Okla., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. In her plea, she admitted that before she retired in May 2013 she falsified a copy of the housing authority’s personnel policies. She added language in the section defining retirement compensation so she could collect one-half the value of her accumulated sick leave. She provided the fabricated copy of the policy to the new executive director when she retired and made demand for half her accumulated sick leave in the amount of $30,855.

In October 2013 she caused a civil complaint to be filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas seeking to be paid for half her sick leave and referencing the falsified personnel policy.

Grissom commended the Housing and Urban Development – OIG and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.