KANSAS CITY, KS – A former credit union manager has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for stealing more than $750,000 from her long-time employer and compromising the stability of the financial institution.
According to court documents, 71-year-old Rita Hartman of Atchison pleaded guilty to one count of making false entries in federal credit union records. Hartman managed Muddy River Credit Union (formerly Atchison Casting Credit Union and Bradken Federal Credit Union) for 30 years, overseeing all financial operations.
Between 2007 and 2021, Hartman stole approximately $346,000 in customer deposits and fraudulently credited about $430,000 in fictitious deposits and loan payments to her or her relatives’ accounts. She concealed the theft by falsifying ledgers, altering reports, and submitting fraudulent records to regulators, which delayed audits and hindered detection.
The embezzlement depleted the credit union’s capital, forcing a merger to maintain operations. A federal judge ordered Hartman’s state pension payments to be directed toward the $778,361 in restitution she must pay.
Hartman, who once served as mayor and city commissioner of Atchison and was appointed in 2013 to the Kansas Credit Union Council, was described by prosecutors as having exploited her community’s trust.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan J. Huschka and Michelle McFarlane prosecuted it.
