Court orders $139k restitution from former clerk

An Electric City woman was ordered by Grant County Superior Court Monday to repay nearly $139,000, for unauthorized personal payments to herself while a clerk for Grant County Mosquito Control District 2.

The repayment is to be made to Enduris Insurance, which had already repaid the Mosquito District for its losses.

Karyn M. Byam, 42, entered an Alford plea to theft in the first degree in March 2017, with a restitution hearing scheduled within six months. That hearing was held Monday, and the court ordered full restitution of $138,810, including $128,834, for payments to herself, plus $9,976 attorney fees suffered by the district.

With an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges the evidence would likely lead to a conviction.

The “stipulated order of restitution” filed with the court last week specifies that Byam begin the process of repayment, Dec. 1, 2017, at the rate of $350 per month with 12-percent interest for the first five years.

After five years, court documents show, if Byam makes regular and timely payments she can petition the court to drop further interest charges. Documents state that if repayments are made on schedule, “the state will not oppose the defendant’s motion to be relieved of her requirement to pay interest on the remaining unpaid balance.”

The improper personal payments made to herself turned up in a state audit of the mosquito district for the years 2010-2014.

As a result of audit information, and the resulting investigation by Grand Coulee Police Chief John Tufts, Byam was initially charged with misappropriation of funds and theft.

The misappropriation of funds charge was dropped under a plea bargain that included no jail time, and Byam entered the Alford plea to theft in the first degree.

The theft charge had to do with Byam purchasing four computers for the district, with only one of them returned to the district at the time of her guilty plea. The other three computers never turned up.

Commissioners had authorized Byam to set up a digital reporting system. It was during that time that she turned in and paid herself for 21 hours work in a single day, and what auditors thought was excessive payments to herself for subsequent work.

The excessive payments to herself came to $128,834, auditors and the investigation determined. The police report at the time disclosed that Byam had issued herself 20 payments of her monthly salary of $1,100, plus an additional 20 payments of $755 for extra work from January through November 2012. This pattern continued into 2013.

Byam was charged on the two theft issues on Dec. 17, 2016.

Lisa Allen, current clerk for the mosquito district, said Monday that the insurance payment of $138,810 to the district does not cover all the expenses the district incurred. She stated that there is a possible IRS penalty of $9,966 hanging over the district’s head for the year of 2014. Other expenses include the cost of a new computer to replace the one taken during the investigation. Additional expenses are related to re-establishing files and records.

Byam had worked for the mosquito district for over 20 years.