Valerie Jill Berry, 36, of Butler plead guilty in Federal Court on six counts in the theft of nearly $78,000.00 from Public Water Supply districts #1 and #6 in Bates County. Under oath, Berry confessed to stealing cash receipts and plead guilty to all charges in April of last year.
Further, to conceal the thefts, it has been determined that Berry submitted fraudulent reports to the office of the state auditor for PWSD #1 and false information to an independent auditor of PWSD #6, causing the auditors to submit false information to the state.
Berry now faces up to 20 years without parole in a federal prison plus a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. The case has been under investigation by the FBI and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Linda Parker Marshall.
We will provide sentencing information as it becomes available.
