(Kinde Durkee) Campaign treasurer pleads guilty to fraud

Source: SF Chronicle

Kinde Durkee, who was a campaign treasurer for hundreds of politicians and political groups across California, pleaded guilty Friday to five charges of mail fraud in connection with the embezzlement of millions of dollars from her clients.

Durkee, 59, said little besides quietly entering her plea and giving one word answers to questions from U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly Mueller. She will be sentenced in June and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count, though prosecutors said they would recommend she get 11 and a half years total.

Each count also comes with a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said the scale of the embezzlement makes it likely the largest crime of its kind involving a campaign treasurer in the country. He said prosecutors believe she spent what could be as much as $10 million that went missing from her clients' accounts and that the victims likely will recoup only a small part of those funds.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/30/MNAP1NSNED.DTL