Former Treasurer Sentenced to 4 Years for Embezzlement
On June 12, 2018, Ryan A. Thorpe, 44, the former Treasurer for the City of Zeigler, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for his conviction for wire fraud and embezzlement from a local government.
The charges against Thorpe relate to events that occurred while Thorpe worked as the Treasurer for the City of Zeigler in Franklin County, Illinois.
When he pled guilty on March 1, 2018, Thorpe admitted that from March 4, 2013, through August 3, 2017, he embezzled $321,399.22 by writing checks payable to himself and drawn on the City of Zeigler’s general account.
Thorpe also admitted that he concealed his thefts from the City of Zeigler by altering the copies of the checks that were sent to the city each month by the city’s bank. Thorpe accomplished this by ‘whiting out’ his name in the payee section of those checks, writing in the names of vendors and suppliers that the city did business with, photocopying the altered checks, placing the photocopies in the bank records kept by the city, and then shredding the copies of the checks with the ‘white out.’
Thorpe also acknowledged that he further concealed his thefts by submitting false monthly Treasurer’s Reports to the Zeigler City Council.
In announcing the four year prison sentence this morning, United States District Judge Staci M. Yandle said she found it troubling that Thorpe began embezzling from the City of Zeigler only a few months after becoming the Treasurer.
Judge Yandle also noted the devastating impact Thorpe’s embezzlements have had on the City of Zeigler and its residents, telling Thorpe: ‘The seriousness of your crime cannot be overstated.’
As part of the sentence, the court ordered Thorpe to pay full restitution of $321,399.22 to the City of Zeigler and its insurance carrier.
In accordance with the terms of his plea agreement, Thorpe also turned over to the City of Zeigler numerous items that he purchased with the embezzled funds. Those items include: a side-by-side Utility Task Vehicle; two motorcycles; a utility trailer; a lady’s diamond ring; numerous firearms; a gun safe; and a four-propeller drone.
The total value of this property is estimated at $35,872.74. Thorpe was given a credit toward restitution paid in this amount.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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