According to court documents, Ms. Kelly Whitmore-Behling was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years’ supervised release for her role in an embezzlement scheme.
The scheme began during Ms. Whitmore-Behling and her co-defendant’s employment for the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works. One of their responsibilities included disposing of vehicles and equipment the city was no longer using. Ms. Whitmore-Behling and her accomplice sold the city vehicles and equipment for cash and kept the proceeds for themselves. Using this scheme, the accused managed to embezzle over $350,000 in revenue and caused the city of Milwaukee additional expenses to replace needed vehicles and equipment that were stolen. The scheme was revealed when the co-defendants were suspended from work and the Department of Public Works conducted a thorough audit.
Moving forward, more thorough audits such as the one that uncovered this scheme, should be done on a regular basis. This would reveal future embezzlement much more quickly and aid in mitigating future attempts at fraud.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
