Ex-court administrator disbarred after fraud conviction

Two months after being sentenced to two years in prison for fraud, former Jackson County Circuit Court Administrator Teresa York was disbarred.

York, of Blue Springs, was placed on leave and then resigned from the court in 2012 after allegations of embezzlement. She had worked for the court since 1984 and became court administrator in 2003.

According to court records, between January 2009 and June 2012, York used her court-paid credit card to purchase items for her personal use.

Those costs, according to court records, included $2,252 for gas for personal driving, $9,532 for “personal items and gift cards from Amazon,” $6,446 for “personal items such as clothing and make-up,” $8,350 for meals, $487 for U.S. postage stamps, $46,535 for Apple computer products and $35,356 on gift cards, with $5,985 worth of those cards distributed to staff as a bonus and the rest kept for personal use.

York reimbursed the court $1,660 between January 2009 and June 2012, and after being confronted about embezzlement, reimbursed another $2,742. The actual loss from York’s use of the credit card was $75,036, according to the plea agreement.

Aside from personal credit card use, York also created a fraudulent contract scheme in which the court paid a company $64,500 under York’s direction “although no usable work product or report was made.” Court documents said that an individual identified as “B.V.,” with whom York was in a relationship, kept $62,000 of that. The total actual loss to the court was $139,536.

York pleaded guilty to mail fraud in November and in July was sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay the $139,536 in restitution.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 4 disbarred York, who was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1983. She previously had been in good standing and had no discipline history, according to the discipline file.