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Masters faces up to 10 years for embezzling
Attorney Ashley Lockwood walks with his client, Marcia L. Masters of Kenova, to federal court Monday, August 18, 2008, in Huntington. Masters, charged with taking $704,606 from the Guyan Conservation District between May 2004 and September 2007, was scheduled to enter a guilty plea Monday in U.S. District Court. She worked as the district's administrative officer.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- A Kenova woman outlined in court Monday how she took more than $700,000 from the Guyan Conservation District while she was its administrative officer.
Marcia L. Masters of Kenova pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to embezzling $704,606 from the conservation district between May 2004 and September 2007.
The 43-year-old woman now faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to twice the amount she embezzled, or possibly more than $1.4 million.
The plea agreement says Masters will forfeit any property that derived from the proceeds of the embezzlement. Masters also must forfeit money obtained from the sale of two sport utility vehicles and a pet store in Huntington.
U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers asked Masters to explain how she stole the money.
As administrative officer, Masters said she had access to the checks that came to the district for various projects. She deposited it into the agency's bank account, then skimmed part of the money by redepositing the funds into her own bank account.
"I defrauded money that wasn't mine," Masters said. "I used the profit off of the projects for my own personal gain."
The Guyan Conservation District is under the control of the West Virginia Conservation Agency and receives federal funding through the state agency. Those funds are used to implement various conservation projects in the district's six-county region, which encompasses Boone, Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo and Wayne counties. The district's projects include soil and watershed conservation efforts.
According to budgetary information obtained by Herald-Dispatch by use of the Freedom of Information Act in early August, the district's annual budget increased from $1.89 million to $7.9 million between July 2001 and June 2008. A majority of the increase has been allocated for floodwall projects in Milton and Logan, according to the budget.
The prosecutors want Masters to forfeit two vehicles and proceeds from the sale of Pet Palace, her former business at the corner of 4th Avenue and 9th Street in Huntington. Masters, along with her daughter, bought the store in July 2007. Masters sold the business in April 2008.
The plea agreement stipulated that her daughter and son be immune from conspiracy of embezzlement charges.
Masters' sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1. She was released Monday on a personal recognizance bond.
