Former KS court clerk who stole voided payments sentenced in public funds misuse case
A former southwest Kansas county court clerk who kept more than $8,000 in voided traffic court payments for herself will serve a year of probation, pay $2,962 in restitution and a $2,500 fine, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Sonia B. Johnson, 57, an ex-clerk for Seward County District Court, pleaded no contest to one count of misuse of public funds in August. Retired Ellis County Judge Edward Bouker handed down her sentence during a court hearing held via videoconference, U.S. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced in a news release Wednesday.
Prosecutors say she returned most of the money she stole while working as a public employee but fell a few thousand dollars short, resulting in the restitution order.
Johnson could be ordered to serve six months in prison if she doesn’t abide by the terms of her probation, Schmidt’s office said. Her crime, investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, is a felony.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 2:10 PM.
