The former administrative manager for the Public Works Department in Covington has pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after she pilfered over $150,000 from the northern Kentucky city.
Allison Donaldson, 50, of Covington, pled guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday. She was indicted in September 2022.
Donaldson was employed as an administrative manager for the Public Works Department between 2005 and 2022 and had access to credit card information for the department.
Her plea agreement indicates that beginning in February 2020 and continuing through February 2022, Donaldson knowingly defrauded the city of Covington by using employee credit cards to make over $150,000 in purchases for herself and her home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Some of the purchases listed in the plea agreement include repairs for a Mercedes Benz, a Louis Vuitton agenda, a Chanel tote, Crate & Barrel furniture, and a remodel of her master bedroom and garage.
Donaldson faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and two years on the aggravated identity theft count. Prosecutors said she also faces criminal judgments for restitution and forfeiture of the property attained through the fraud.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigation and the Kenton County Police Department.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
