Kay Ann Locke of Edmond, Oklahoma, is going to federal prison for stealing $454,824.69 from her employer and lying to the IRS about it. The 37-month sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge David L. Russell reflects the cold precision of her crime — a years-long theft that gutted a company while she lived beyond her means.
Locke, a bookkeeper at Delta Promotions Team Corporation in Oklahoma City from 2005 until April 2016, was told in 2011 to close a company credit card. Instead, she kept it active and used it — along with another company card — for personal spending and cash advances. The money flowed not into business accounts but into her pockets, racking up nearly half a million dollars in unauthorized charges.
She didn’t stop there. To cover the bleeding accounts, Locke committed wire fraud, routing company funds to pay off the fraudulent credit card bills. The electronic transfers left a digital trail federal agents followed straight to her door. The scheme unraveled when auditors and investigators began asking hard questions about missing funds.
Locke also filed a false 2015 federal income tax return, claiming less than $30,000 in total income. That number was a lie. She knew her actual income — derived from embezzled cash — was substantially higher. Filing that return wasn’t an error. It was a felony.
On July 27, 2017, Locke pleaded guilty to both counts: embezzlement and filing a false tax return. No excuses, no trial — just a confession to the theft and deception that defined her final years at the company. The June 14, 2017, charges stuck, and today’s judgment delivers the consequence.
Judge Russell ordered 37 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Locke must also pay $552,667.64 in restitution — first to Delta Promotions, then to the IRS. The case was investigated by the Oklahoma City Economic and Identity Crimes Task Force, a coalition of federal and local agencies, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.
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Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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