Former Mustang Public Schools payroll director sentenced to federal prison for defrauding district of nearly $500k

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A former Mustang Public Schools payroll director has been sentenced to federal prison for stealing more than half a million dollars from the district over a six-year period.

News 4 first reported on Kim Weinrich in 2022, when Mustang police arrested her and accused her of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars while working in the district’s payroll department.

Federal investigators say the theft happened from 2016 until 2022 and involved a payroll scheme that allowed Weinrich to take home more than double what she was supposed to be paid.

They say she used her access to the payroll system to change the positive amount listed for her voluntary paycheck deductions into a negative amount.

In one example from March 2022, investigators say her gross pay was $2,165.53.

After subtracting involuntary deductions, like taxes, and voluntary deductions, like benefits, she was supposed to take home $1,752.99.

But investigators say Weinrich changed her voluntary deduction amount from a positive total, to  -$5,805.65.

When the payroll system calculated her check, it subtracted -$5,805.65 from her $2,165.53 gross pay, leaving her with a take-home pay amount of $7,971.18 instead.

Investigators say she used the same method for all of her paychecks during that time, totaling $427,087.91 in extra pay she was not entitled to receive.

They also say she took tax withholding money from other district employees’ paychecks and moved it into her own.

That meant she used their tax payments to cover her own taxes and left their taxes unpaid.

Weinrich pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and tax fraud charges.

In July, a federal judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison and ordered her to pay $595,970.21 in restitution — $470,385.21 to Mustang Public Schools and $125,585 to the IRS.

Court records say she must report to prison to begin her sentence by September 2.