On Aug. 26, an eight-count lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Daviess County by the Pattonsburg R-II School District against Ronald G. Deshon
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On Aug. 26, an eight-count lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Daviess County by the Pattonsburg R-II School District against Ronald G. Deshon; Lockridge, Constant & Conrad, CPAs, LLC; Cadre Consulting Services; and Northwest Missouri Regional Credit Union.
The suit states the facts of the case as follows: Ron DeShon, as superintendent of the Pattonsburg school district from July 1999 to Oct. 13, 2004, had access to funds deposited in the school district’s MOSIP account. MOSIP is a cooperative investment service to provide for the investment of surplus funds of school districts and other eligible political subdivisions.
Cadre Consulting Services served as the administrator of the account, with responsibilities including authorizing and processing the transfer of funds from the school district’s out-of-state MOSIP account into an authorized local account used for the payment of school district operating expenses.
Without the school district’s approval, DeShon contacted Cadre and requested the transfer of school district funds into a personal account established under his name at Northwest Missouri Regional Credit Union. He requested approximately 135 transfers between Sept. 5, 2000 and Oct. 7, 2004, for a total of approximately $844,477.52 deposited into his personal account.
On each of the eight counts, the Pattonsburg School District is asking for actual and punitive damages in an amount that is fair and reasonable and in excess of $25,000 for its costs, prejudgment interest and for further relief as the court might deem proper.
Counts one through four, against DeShon, are named as fraud, fraudulent nondisclosure, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty. Counts five and six of the lawsuit against Lockridge, Constant & Conrad allege negligence/accounting malpractice and breach of contract. Count seven of the lawsuit, against Cadre Consulting Services, alleges negligence. Count eight of the lawsuit, against Northwest Missouri Regional Credit Union, alleges violation of the uniform fiduciaries law.
The Pattonsburg School District is represented by Long, Luder and Gordon, P.A. of Overland Park, Kan. DeShon was sentenced in federal court Aug. 24 for embezzling more than $850,000 from the school district. He received three years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered DeShon to pay $854,699 in restitution.