Kansas City, MO: A police officer from Kansas City, Missouri, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 16 counts. The officer is accused of misusing $300,000 in donations from an anti-crime group for personal expenses.
The indictment was made public on Friday following the arrest of Aaron McKie, 46. McKie faces charges of 14 counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.
Throughout his career, he dedicated 24 years to serving as a police officer in Kansas City, with a majority of his time focused on the Crime Free Multi-Housing Section.
A news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri states that he served as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc., from 2009 to 2023. The nonprofit was established with the aim of offering training to individuals employed in rental housing and advocating for anti-crime initiatives.
The indictment states that McKie engaged in fraudulent activities from July 2009 to October 2023. The anti-crime group received a significant portion of its funding from the annual golf tournament, Fairways 4 Fuzz.
Over 100 donors have been identified. It has been reported that McKie misused the nonprofit group’s bank account for personal expenses. Presented below is a breakdown of the expenditure:
- A total of $125,989 spent on travel, entertainment, restaurants, and bars
- $57,278 in retail and luxury
- $41,040 transferred to personal accounts
- A substantial amount of cash totaling $36,874
- Previous year’s earnings totaled $27,279, while household expenses amounted to $23,298.
- Personal tax payments amount to $8,299
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department issued a statement regarding McKie shortly after the indictment was made public.
“In September of 2023, our department became aware of a possible case of misconduct involving one of our officers, prompting us to initiate a thorough investigation.” The statement indicated that the financial activity in question was connected to a nonprofit organization, which was overseen by an officer and provided assistance to the Crime Free Multi-Housing program. “The officer involved has been placed on suspension while the investigation is ongoing.” After completing the investigation, our investigators sent the results to the U.S. Attorney’s office for review.
Reference: Scripps News