Former Merriam Woods city clerk pleads guilty to fraud scheme

(From the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A former city clerk for Merriam Woods, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to a $68,000 scheme to defraud the city.

Breanna N. Gamble, also known as Breanna Delcour, 28, of Ozark, Mo., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges her with one count of wire fraud.

By pleading guilty today, Gamble admitted that, from Oct. 1, 2018, to Aug. 11, 2019, she engaged in a scheme by which she utilized her position as a city clerk for Merriam Woods to use city funds for her personal benefit, without authorization from the city.

The loss to the city of Merriam Woods that resulted from Gamble’s fraud scheme totaled at least $68,038. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Gamble must forfeit to the government a money judgment in that amount.

As a part of her scheme, Gamble used the city’s credit cards and bank accounts to make personal purchases on numerous occasions, without authorization from the city, including purchases from Amazon, Victoria’s Secret, Walmart, PFI, Buckle, American Eagle, H&M, Ticketmaster, Reliable Chevrolet, Springfield Power Sports, Lululemon, and Ulta.

Gamble admitted that she forged a signature on a $5,500 city check that was used to purchase a motorcycle for her personal use.

In order to conceal her scheme and her use of the city’s funds, Gamble recorded false financial entries and false invoices. Gamble also made misrepresentations to the city’s mayor and board of aldermen, and failed to cooperate with a company hired by the city to conduct a financial audit of the city’s finances.

Under federal statutes, Gamble is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the FBI.