photo by: Contributed

The federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas.

A federal judge sentenced a former Kansas credit union manager to 63 months in prison for stealing more than $750,000 from her longtime employer and jeopardizing the soundness of the financial institution, according to a news release Thursday from U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rita Hartman, 71, of Atchison, pleaded guilty to one count of false entries in federal credit union records.

For 30 years, she was the manager of Muddy River Credit Union (formerly Atchison Casting Credit Union and Bradken Federal Credit Union), which served the employees of a foundry in Atchison.

Hartman’s position gave her control over all aspects of Muddy River’s finances. Between 2007 and 2021, she stole approximately $346,00 in customer cash deposits. the release said. Hartman also fraudulently credited approximately $430,000 in deposits and loan payments to her or her relatives’ accounts when no payments or deposits had been made. Hartman concealed her conduct by altering ledgers and records and by falsifying information submitted to regulators. She also delayed a mandated audit.

Her embezzlement wiped out Muddy River’s capital and rendered it insolvent, ultimately forcing a merger into another credit union to continue operations, according to the release.

In 2013, Gov. Sam Brownback appointed Hartman to the Kansas Credit Union Council, which advises the Kansas Department of Credit Unions on issues and needs of credit unions. Hartman is also a former mayor and city commissioner in Atchison. A federal judge ordered that during her imprisonment, all of Hartman’s state pension payments be directed toward the $778,361 in restitution she was ordered to pay as part of her sentence.

“For decades, Rita Hartman was a prominent, well-respected figure in Atchison, Kansas,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Instead of living up to the high regard that people in the community had for her, she exploited their trust and used it to perpetuate her embezzlement scheme and line her pockets with stolen funds.”