Kristine Daniel

Kristine Michelle Daniel, 49, has been sentenced to four months in prison and four months of home confinement. She has also been ordered to pay over $113,000 in restitution.

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, Daniel’s 48th birthday, an indictment by a federal grand jury was handed down accusing her of federal program theft.

It alleges the day care center received over $10,000 in federal grant funding for two years of which Daniel stole at least $5,000.

Daniel was the director of the Kids Corner day care center from February, 2010, until mid-2016, when she was terminated following disclosure of missing funds from the center’s operation.

She was first charged on May 22, 2018, with ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering in connection with the alleged theft of $286,343 in improper expenditures and $28,954 in unsupported expenditures from Kids Corner Daycare in Toledo by Tama County Sheriff’s Detective Bruce Rhoads. Additional charges were added in a Trial Information filed on June 12, 2018, by Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren.

State Audit Report Led To Charges

An audit report, released on May 23, 2018, by the office of then State Auditor Mary Mosiman, identified $278,362.58 of improper and unsupported disbursements, undeposited collections, and forgone grant revenue.

The $120,724.29 of improper and unsupported disbursements identified includes $55,523.00 of purchases on Kids’ Corner’s credit cards, primarily from Amazon, Walmart, and Sam’s Club; $56,369.24 in unauthorized payroll and reimbursements issued to or for Daniel; $5,140.53 of penalties and interest incurred for non-payment of payroll taxes to the federal and state governments; and $3,649.52 of purchases from various vendors.

The $63,638.29 of undeposited collections identified consist of cash payments from parents for childcare services which were recorded in Kids’ Corner’s accounting system but not deposited to Kids’ Corner’s bank accounts, and the $94,000 of forgone grant revenue consists of funds Kids’ Corner could have received through the Iowa Department of Education to supplement its grocery purchases for meals served.