Juniata woman convicted of stealing from fire department

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - A Juniata woman will be sentenced in January for embezzling money from the Juniata Volunteer Fire Department.

Arlene Karr, 66, last month pleaded no contest and was convicted of felony theft of between $1,500 and $5,000. She will be sentenced Jan. 8, 2024. The max penalty for a conviction on felony theft is two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Adams County Court records indicate Karr stole $30,241 from the fire department between April 2020 to February 2023. The records indicate Karr made various payments from a fire department account to credit card companies with which she had personal accounts. At the time, Karr was secretary/treasurer for the volunteer fire department.

An Adams County Sheriff’s investigator began looking into the case in March after the rural fire chief examined bank statements and found payments not related to the department.