Keri Kopriva, a 44-year-old former city clerk from Elberon, Iowa, has been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison for committing wire fraud to steal from the City of Clutier.
According to the plea agreement, Kopriva worked as the city clerk between January 2016 and December 2018, during which time she stole money from the city in various ways, including writing checks to herself and to family members, using city credit cards for personal expenses, and pocketing money meant for utility payments from citizens of the city.
The total amount stolen by Kopriva exceeded $107,000 over the nearly three years she was employed by the city. This egregious abuse of trust and position of authority has resulted in significant financial harm to the City of Clutier and its residents.
Kopriva pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on October 26, 2023. She was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids to 21 months’ imprisonment, and ordered to make more than $108,000 in restitution to the City of Clutier.
In addition to the prison term, Kopriva will also serve a three-year term of supervised release. As there is no parole in the federal system, Kopriva will be required to serve the entirety of her sentence. She is currently being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt. The court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number being 23-cr-13. For further updates, follow the US Attorney’s Office on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
This sentence serves as a reminder that public corruption will not be tolerated and those who abuse their positions of authority for personal gain will be held accountable. The citizens of Clutier can take some measure of comfort in knowing that justice has been served, but the impact of Kopriva’s actions will likely be felt for some time to come.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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