Karla Justice Pleads Guilty to $145K School Embezzlement

Karla Justice, 55, of Columbus, Kan., has admitted to stealing $145,726 from the Jasper R-5 School District through a calculated embezzlement scheme that spanned three years. Justice, who served as head bookkeeper, payroll secretary, superintendent secretary, and board secretary, exploited her unchecked access to siphon funds while fabricating transactions and bypassing internal controls.

On the day of her guilty plea in federal court, Justice waived her right to a grand jury and admitted to one count of wire fraud and one count of credit card fraud. Prosecutors revealed she paid herself $80,858 in unauthorized payroll, triggering $6,731 in fraudulent employer retirement contributions and $6,530 in Social Security and Medicare benefits she was not entitled to receive.

Justice also raided the district’s petty cash account, writing checks and E-checks totaling $13,929 for personal expenses with no connection to school operations. She had no authorization for these transactions, yet faced no oversight during her tenure from 2009 until her abrupt resignation on September 22, 2016.

In a brazen escalation, Justice opened a Home Depot credit card in the district’s name without approval and used it for personal purchases from January 6 to September 1, 2016, racking up $2,133 in fraudulent charges. She accessed signature stamps belonging to authorized officials to write unauthorized checks from the district’s operating account—a move investigators say was designed to circumvent safeguards.

Alarm bells rang when district officials began reviewing finances amid budget shortfalls. Irregular payroll disbursements, missing petty cash, and unapproved credit card activity led to a forensic audit. When confronted, Justice didn’t wait for consequences—she handed in a resignation letter and vanished from her post.

Now facing up to 35 years in federal prison without parole, Justice’s fate rests with the court after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney, was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department. Sentencing hearings are pending.

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