KC development agency says ex-official stole millions. Now, feds seize his bank accounts
Federal officials revealed in court Wednesday that they have seized the bank accounts of a former controller accused of stealing millions from Kansas City’s primary economic development organization.
In a civil forfeiture case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri also took hold of two vehicles, including a 2021 Mercedes-Benz, that were allegedly purchased with money taken from the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, or EDC.
Federal prosecutors did not name the former employee in a court filing, which was first reported by KCUR. But a Wells Fargo bank account they listed correlates with one once operated by former EDC controller Lee Brown, who died last year.
The EDC last month filed suit against Brown and former interim chief executive T’Risa McCord, who oversaw Brown’s 2015 hiring, in an effort to recover what it said was stolen money.
Brown stole more than $2.3 million and defrauded the corporation out of at least $739,000 in salary, for a total loss of about $3.1 million, the EDC contended. He allegedly used some of the money to buy cars and jewelry. The EDC also claimed Brown secured his controller job after “grossly” misrepresenting his background and hiding his criminal history.
In the filing Wednesday, authorities said more than $1.8 million of “embezzled” EDC money was moved to Brown’s Wells Fargo account. An additional $1 million was traced to another account. Both of those accounts, though, had balances of between about $117,000 and $124,000 when they were seized. In total, the U.S. Marshals Service took control of about $1.17 million.
In addition to the Mercedes-Benz, authorities also seized a Ford F-150.
“The funding of these payments to purchase the vehicle were directly traceable to proceeds of the fraud and/or proceeds involved in money laundering activity,” an assistant U.S. attorney wrote in the court filing, the facts of which were verified by an FBI agent.
The filing marked the federal government’s first known involvement in the case. No charges have been filed in what prosecutors described as a “scheme to defraud” the EDC.
The EDC is a city-contracted umbrella organization that administers a variety of development and incentive programs for new and expanding businesses. The agency oversees several entities like the Kansas City Tax Increment Finance Commission, the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority.
Those agencies, tasked with promoting new development, are also entrusted with the authority to grant tax breaks and incentives that can persist for decades.
After nearly three years of interim directors, the EDC in June hired as its permanent CEO Tracey Lewis, a former vice president of Commerce Trust.
The Star’s Kevin Hardy contributed to this report.
