Olympian Village Alderman Indicted on Wire Fraud Charges

St. Louis, MO – Gary Keith Atchley, 53, of Jefferson County, Missouri, surrendered this morning in federal court to an Indictment charging him with five counts of wire fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud the citizens of Olympian Village.

The indictment alleges that, between March 2013 and December 2016, Atchley was an alderman for Olympian Village located in Jefferson County, Missouri.  At no time was Atchley an authorized signatory on the Olympian Village account.  He used the account to pay personal expenses, including making checks to cash and writing checks directly to himself.  Approximately $58,000 was bought in personal merchandise using pre-authorized debit transactions and the $127,000 of checks he wrote to himself were not authorized by the Olympian Village government.

"This is a double blow for Olympian Village," said Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division. "The financial loss alone is devastating for a small community. The addition of public corruption causes an even deeper impact when people lose trust in their government."

If convicted, Atchley faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of more than $250,000 or both on each count.  Restitution to the victim is also mandatory. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the St. Louis division of the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.  Gwen Carroll is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.