Authorities are investigating whether a former Kingman budget analyst stole hundreds of thousands of city dollars this year to finance a gambling habit.
A special agent with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office accused Diane Maxine Richards of transferring about $300,000 from a city bank account to pay off her own credit cards, according to a search warrant affidavit. According to court records Richards took out cash advances on at least three credit cards from casinos in Laughlin, Nev.
Kingman Mayor Richard Anderson said he knew nothing of the allegations until investigators questioned him in November.
“She covered it up very well,” Anderson said. “We are in the process of trying to recoup everything.”
Richards, a state employee for about 20 years, was immediately fired, Anderson said. The Kingman mayor is worried that if authorities’ claims are true, it may only be the tip of the iceberg. He said the city is firing its auditor and hiring a new firm.
“We are very concerned that the auditors who do an annual audit – because this seems to have gone back five, six years – had not caught that item,” Anderson said.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday that Richards has not been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.
A message left at a number listed for Richards was not immediately returned.
