Barton County Attorney Douglas Matthews wants the woman who stole from the Central Prairie Honor Flight program to spend time in prison.
Matthews has filed a motion in Barton County District Court, requesting an “upward dispositional departure” from the Kansas sentencing guidelines when LaVeta D. Miller is sentenced. District Judge Ron Svaty has scheduled Miller’s sentencing for 1 p.m. on Friday, May 8. Unless he departs from the guidelines, Miller will receive probation. The county attorney has asked that she be sentenced to 25 months in prison, which is the maximum allowed under the guidelines, and that she not receive presumptive probation.
Miller was convicted of two counts of theft by deception, each for amounts greater than $25,000 but less than $100,000. The money was taken from Central Prairie RC&D accounts between March 1, 2009, and July 31, 2012. Central Prairie oversaw a program that raised money to give Kansas veterans expense-paid trips to Washington, D.C. World War II veterans received top priority, allowing them to see their memorial and other sights.
“She is not amenable to probation,” Matthews stated in the 13-page motion filed April 14. He cites aggravating factors, starting with the fact the two others benefitted financially from Miller’s deception. Clark Conoway and Miller’s daughter Lisa Wyatt were paid amounts that exceeded what the Central Prairie board had authorized. That makes Miller “the mastermind or kingpin” in the theft by deception, Matthews wrote.
The county attorney also noted that, rather than admitting her guilt, Miller changed her story on the witness stand when explaining how Central Prairie reimbursed her for claims of out-of-pocket expenses. She suggested she used her own money to help veterans on two separate Honor Flights, buying tickets to the Fort McHenry site in Baltimore. “On cross-examination the jury learned she only made one trip and the tickets were free.”
The motion continues by stating the defendant cannot be rehabilitated, and that her misconduct was a breach of fiduciary duty. “This direct, personal relationship of three years plus led those around the defendant to place their trust in her, a trust that was betrayed from the start.”
A total of 65 checks were identified during her trial, totaling more than $100,000 stolen from Central Prairie.
A pattern emerges
The Pre-Sentencing Investigation ordered by Judge Svaty shows Miller has four previous convictions in Pawnee County District Court for writing worthless checks in 2002 and 2003.
The case file also includes a letter sent this month from Nancy Barnes and giving “examples of forgery and financial mismanagement by LaVeta Miller.” This letter details how Miller allegedly forged Barnes’s signature in 2007 when she was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Larned and Barnes was president. Miller asked the national headquarters for help after the tornado that came through Greensburg and parts of Pawnee County. She submitted an application showing her need for a new roof and emphasizing all she did for the organization. It bears Barnes’s signature.
“We knew nothing about the application until the Unit President, Nancy Barnes, received a letter from National Headquarters granting the money ($500).” The application was signed by Barnes, and Barnes said she did not sign it.
“We believe this is a forgery. We have not checked with an attorney but believe that the forgery to obtain money could be prosecuted as a crime in Pawnee County.”
The Barnes letter also includes a copy of a letter dated April 2, 1999, that detailed financial problems with the Cub Scout Pack 122 and Boy Scout Troop 122 in Larned, which had been sponsored by the same American Legion post. Checks signed by Miller and co-signed by her then husband, Larry Miller, were bouncing. It was noted that the requirement for two signatures on the checks should not have included a husband and wife. No criminal activity was suggested, and the letter from the David W. Capstick, district director of the Boys Scouts of America, stated, “This is not a recent problem but covers several past years.” But it concluded funds had been mismanaged and should not be handled by the Millers. The director recommended closing the account and revoking the charters of the Scout troop and pack until issues could be resolved.
In the meantime, money that should have been available to buy rewards for Scouts who sold popcorn was not in the account, so the rewards could not be purchased.
Capstick wrote, “Due to the inability to handle funds and the accountability of those funds, youth and parents have not enjoyed he full program potential available to them as members of the Boy Scouts of America.”
A week per veteran
Finally, court documents include a letter dated March 13, 2015, from Myrna Rogers in Augusta. She and her husband knew Miller for 21 years, Rogers wrote.
“Her interaction with the veterans has proven to be self-serving.”
Rogers calculated the money stolen and the amount it costs to send a veteran on an Honor Flight.
“My calculation is 153.8 vets missed the opportunity to go on an Honor Flight,” Rogers wrote. A prison sentence of 2.9 years would be equal to one week for each veteran.
Rogers adds that Miller’s abuse of public trust makes it more difficult for legitimate fundraisers, and she asked the judge to order some financial restitution.
