Former Town of Apache employee embezzlement charges upped to felonies

ANADARKO — A pair of felony charges were filed against a former Town of Apache employee stemming from an investigation into missing public funds.

Kelly Lynn Lunsford, 45, of Apache, made her initial appearance Tuesday in Caddo County District Court where she received two felony charges of embezzlement of public money, records indicate. The crime is punishable by up to one year in the county jail, up to $1,000 in fines and restitution.

The felony charges follow District Attorney Jason Hicks’ motion to dismiss misdemeanor embezzlement charges filed Oct. 11, 2023, due to refiling the charges as felonies.

The missing money was discovered through an investigation begun through a routine internal audit for the Town of Apache.

Investigators discovered on July 27, 2023, that the audit determined $280 in cash was missing from a July 25, 2023, transaction. Two employees are under supervision of the town clerk, one of whom was Lunsford, a full-time employee working in City Hall for 1½ years, the probable cause affidavit states. It was learned the other employee had taken a cash payment for a bill and put the money in an envelope. After reviewing security video, the transaction was confirmed, Apache Police Officer Ben Lehew stated.

Lunsford, who wasn’t in the office at that time, returned around 1:15 p.m. and worked until 5 p.m. when she took the daily bank deposit to the bank at the end of the day, according to the affidavit. She was off work for the next three days.

On July 27, 2023, the town clerk produced a computer-generated report that showed all receipts from two days prior and it was learned the $280 had been deleted and was not deposited, according to the affidavit. The money and receipt could not be located, Lehew stated.

When Lunsford returned to work on July 31, 2023, stricter controls were put into place for the computer software. The next day, the Apache Police Department asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to assist. The other employee and Lunsford were placed on leave during the investigation.

Lunsford asked the town clerk if all the drawers had been searched and she went to a drawer where the money and deposit slip were found together, according to the affidavit. The deposit slip had Lunsford’s handwriting, even though she wasn’t present when the bill was paid, according to Lehew.

The next day, the original deposit slip, which was torn to shreds, was found in Lunsford’s trash can, the affidavit states. Further investigation revealed a similar loss of $118 from two receipts for money paid to the Town of Apache, Lehew stated.

Investigators looked at the receipt list for the town for the month of July 2023, and found 15 receipts unaccounted for with seven removed from the software system, the affidavit states. None were found missing following the July 25, 2023, incident, according to Lehew. There is continuing investigation into 12 of the missing receipts and more charges may be pending.

Lunsford had been free on $2,500 bond for the misdemeanor charges. She is free on $5,000 bond and returns to court at 9 a.m. March 8 for her preliminary hearing conference, records indicate.