CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former legal service office manager pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion Monday, according to United States Attorney Carol Casto.
Kim Cooper of St. Albans, was the officer manager at Mountain State Justice, a non-profit organization that provides legal services to low-income West Virginians in civil cases. As officer manager, Cooper was responsible for overseeing daily operations at the non-profit’s Charleston office and making deposits in its bank accounts.
According to a statement from Casto, Cooper admitted to opening an account at WesBanco Bank in Mountain State Justice’s name without its knowledge, as well as stealing checks that were supposed to be payments for attorneys’ fees and instead depositing checks in this account. She also admitted to writing checks from the account to make personal payments.
Additionally, Cooper said she did not log these checks into a cash log and attempted to evade income tax on this money.
Cooper stopped in March 2016 after being interviewed by federal law enforcement agents and having her employment terminated.
Cooper faces up to 25 years in federal prison. As part of her plea agreement, Cooper agreed to pay almost $1.5 million to Mountain State Justice and almost $380,000 to the United States.
Cooper will be sentenced on April 20.