A former University of Missouri employee pled guilty Monday to charges of embezzlement. Former administrative assistant Carla Rathmann worked at MU’s Southwest Research Center in Mt. Vernon, Missouri, where she embezzled nearly $750,000 of MU funds over the course of fifteen years, according to the Department of Justice. Rathmann also admitted to using a university credit card for personal expenses totaling almost $150,000.
According to the Department of Justice, Rathmann created and registered three shell companies with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. She then fabricated bills or invoices in the names of these companies from January 2005 to June of 2014. The companies performed no services and sold no actual items.
Rathmann approved all the fraudulent invoices and bills. The University of Missouri wrote checks to the fictitious businesses for a total of $716,665.
Rathmann began using the university credit card in February of 2002 when she paid Bolivar Insulation $1,249. The last unauthorized use came in August of 2015 when she paid Ozark Mountain Pest Control $30. Personal expenses on the university credit card totaled $146,144.
According to the internal audit of the Southwest Research Center, a call was made to the MU Ethics and Compliance Hotline in January of 2011. The audit states that the call was made to inform people that Rathmann was only coming into work about 15-20 hours a week and falsifying her time sheets.
MU did investigate the call but was unable to solidify any direct evidence that Rathmann had fabricated her time sheets.
In July of 2014 David Cope was hired as the new Superintendent of the Southwest Research Center when he noticed Rathmann had suspicious behavior. This included her unwillingness to share financial information with him. This prompted a full investigation.
U.S. Attorney Public Affairs Officer Don Ledford says that MU brought this issue to law enforcement.
“In this situation the university came forward and assisted in the investigation, provided the information and cooperation that enabled the law enforcement investigators to do their job. It’s that kind of cooperation that enables us to investigate and prosecute these kinds of cases and hopefully creates a deterrence for other fraudsters.” Ledford said.
According to the MU News Bureau press release, MU Interim Chancellor Hank Foley said, “The University of Missouri has a fiduciary obligation to be responsible stewards of the resources under our control, and we take any unethical action – criminal or otherwise – with the utmost seriousness."