Kim Cooper, Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, West Virginia 2023

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A former office manager at Mountain State Justice who embezzled over $1.5 million pleaded guilty today, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto.

Kim Cooper, 55, of St. Albans, entered her guilty plea to wire fraud and tax evasion after a lengthy investigation by the FBI and the IRS – Criminal Investigation division.

Cooper began working in the late 1990’s in the Charleston office of Mountain State Justice, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides legal services for indigent and low-income West Virginia residents in civil cases. She became the office manager and her duties included overseeing the daily operations of the Charleston office and making deposits of checks in Mountain State Justice’s bank accounts.

Cooper admitted that she opened a money market account at WesBanco Bank in the name of Mountain State Justice, which no one else at Mountain State Justice knew about. She began stealing checks made out to Mountain State Justice that were payment for attorneys’ fees and depositing these checks in the secret bank account.

Cooper also admitted that she wrote checks from the secret account to a close family member with notations that made the payments appear legitimate, and that she endorsed those checks, deposited the checks in another account, and used the money to pay rent, make car payments, make credit card payments, and pay for personal expenses.

Cooper faces up to 25 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on April 20, 2017. As part of her plea agreement, Cooper agreed to pay restitution of $1,462,023.83 to Mountain State Justice and $377,776.89 to the United States.

The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. First Assistant United States Attorney Philip H. Wright is in charge of the prosecution.

Cooper’s scheme ended in late March 2016 when she was interviewed by federal law enforcement agents and her employment was terminated. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in non-profit organizations. Follow us on Twitter: @SDWVNews for updates on this and other cases.

Related Federal Cases