Former agency CFO sentenced for bribery, money laundering

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man who managed the finances of an agency that operates federally funded preschool programs was sentenced to more than four years in prison Wednesday for taking bribes.

Andrew P. Nyakatura, 46, of Kansas City, also was ordered to pay $885,417 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He pleaded guilty in February to one count of federal program bribery and one count of money laundering.

Nyakatura is the former controller and chief financial officer of KCMC Child Development Corporation Inc., a nonprofit agency that operates 11 federal Head Start programs in four counties in the Kansas City area.

Through his guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Todd P. Graves said that Nyakatura admitted that he received more than $200,000 in kickbacks for approving about $1.1 million in renovation and remodeling projects at centers operated by KCMC. The restitution ordered by the court represents the amount KCMC overpaid.

Nyakatura also admitted that he made several illegal financial transactions to conceal the nature and source of the illegally obtained funds.

The court ordered Nyakatura to surrender himself to authorities to begin serving his prison sentence on Sept. 16.