Platte County Commission demands treasurer repay money lost in scam

PLATTE CITY, Mo. -- A western Missouri county commission is demanding the county's treasurer personally repay more than $20,000 of public funds lost in an email scam.

A letter signed by three Platte County commissioners Tuesday also demands Treasurer Rob Willard pay more than $1,900 in attorney fees and gave him a week to come up with the money, The Kansas City Star reported.

"We believe this is the right thing to do for the person who made this error, who failed to follow policy and procedure," Presiding Commissioner Ron Schieber said.

Willard said a fraudulent email last month duped him into sending a $48,000 wire transfer to a bank in Florida.

He made the transfer after receiving what he thought was an email request from Schieber to pay for a state tax consultant.

Schieber didn't make the request. Willard was spoofed by an internet scam that has targeted several counties in Missouri and Kansas.

In a separate letter, commissioners asked county prosecutor Eric Zahnd to investigate whether Willard spent county money without proper authorization and to impose any penalty allowed under Missouri law.

Willard used to work as an assistant prosecutor under Zahnd.

The prosecutor said his office is not an investigative agency and urged the commission to refer the matter to law enforcement.

Once Willard realized his office had been scammed, he contacted the county's bank, alerted the sheriff's office and filed a complaint with the FBI.

The source of the fraudulent emails has not been determined.

Wells Fargo has transferred about $28,000 back to the county's general fund.

Willard said Wednesday the demand letter surprised him, and he's reviewing his options.

"We were spending all of our energies on doing everything we could to recover the money and work with the financial institutions, and it appears that the commission has taken a different focus," Willard said.

As county treasurer, Willard said he is bonded, and his office is insured. Willard said he has worked with various banks and the county's insurance provider to recover the funds.

"This was a mistake. It was not malice," he said.