Kimberly Lynn
Duncan, a former part-time clerk for the city of La Habra convicted in September of stealing more than $70,000 from the city's community center, was sentenced today to a year in jail and five years probation.
The 24-year-old Brea resident, who has already paid back $11,500, must come up with more restitution as part of her probation.
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She pleaded guilty Sept. 7 to one felony count each of forgery, second degree commercial burglary and misappropriation of public funds, and could have received a maximum sentence of five years and four months in state prison.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office conviction statement follows:
November 9, 2010
FORMER LA HABRA CITY EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR STEALING OVER $70,000 FROM CITY'S COMMUNITY CENTER
SANTA ANA – A former part-time employee of the Community Services
Department for the City of La Habra was sentenced today for stealing
over $70,000 from the City's Community Center. Kimberly Lynn Duncan, 24,
Brea, pleaded guilty to the court Sept. 7, 2010, to one felony count
each of the misappropriation of public funds, forgery, and second degree
commercial burglary. Duncan was sentenced today to one year in jail and
five years of formal probation. She has paid $11, 500 in restitution
and is ordered to pay additional restitution that will be determined by
probation.
Between March 27, 2009, and Sept. 8, 2009, Duncan stole over $25,600 in
cash from the City of La Habra Community Center while working as a
part-time employee. The defendant was responsible for making daily
deposits from the Community Center to City Hall. These deposits came
from resident payments for City classes, sponsored trips, and venue fees
for weddings and meetings hosted at the Community Center.
In addition to failing to deposit and stealing over $25,600, Duncan also
failed to deposit an additional $24,000 in checks and $20,700 in credit
card receipts to the City Treasurer, which are still unaccounted for
and missing. Duncan fraudulently filled out deposit forms to hide her
theft and failure to deposit the checks and credit card receipts from
the Community Center, which totaled over $70,000. She is accused of
using a counterfeit City Hall official stamp to process deposits and
forging the initials of Community Center and City Hall employees on
checks.
The Community Center discovered and reported the theft in August 2009,
after a resident complained that a check from July 10, 2009, had not
been cashed. Duncan was arrested Sept. 8, 2009, while at work at the La
Habra Community Center.
Deputy District Attorney
Marc Labreche of the Major Fraud Unit prosecuted this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.