Former auditor sentenced to 12 years in prison

Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott also ordered LaTisha Raye Reid to pay more than $19,000 in restitution, telling her the “lure of easy money … was just too great to overcome.”

Reid, 43, of Oklahoma City, was accused of stealing about $30,000 from the $350 million unclaimed property fund in 2010 and 2011 while she worked as an internal auditor for the state treasurer's office.

State prosecutors alleged Reid misused state computers, created fake court documents and fake death certificates, and used relatives and friends in her scheme, including her aunt and the aunt's boyfriend, a convicted murderer.

The judge told Reid the public must be able to trust “persons in authority,” and she “was one of those persons.”

“You clearly had your retirement plan in place,” Elliott said.

“You had every intention of living large at the expense of the taxpayers of this state.”

Reid pleaded guilty in April to 23 felony counts in four different cases. A jury later acquitted her and David Duane Edinburgh, the convicted murderer, of conspiracy to defraud the state.