The former city clerk for Riverton in southwest Iowa has pleaded guilty to bank fraud in a plan to steal money from the city.
Fifty-seven-year-old Carol Jennings admitted in a plea agreement that she opened an account at a local bank using fake documents and then put city funds into that account. She later withdrew the funds for her own use. A special investigation by the state auditor’s office identified nearly $331,000 worth of what were called improper financial transactions by Jennings.
The audit also found thousands of dollars in purchases unrelated to the bank deposits where it could not be determined if they were for the city or for her personal use. Jennings will be sentenced on the bank fraud plea on February 20th. She faces a maximum sentence of not more than 30 years and a fine not to exceed one million dollars.