COVINGTON, Ky. — Former Covington Administrative Manager Allison Donaldson was sentenced Friday to spend 45 months in jail and pay $12,970 in restitution, according to court records.
Donaldson pleaded guilty in April to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to the office of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Donaldson used City of Covington credit cards for over $180,000 worth of personal purchases.
Donaldson was employed as an administrative manager for Covington's Public Works Department from 2005 to 2022; she resigned after an internal investigation showed her credit card purchases were irregular.
The indictment leveled against Donaldson said she defrauded the City of Covington from February 2020 through February 2022, making purchases with city credit cards for herself and her home.
The indictment included a list of purchases Donaldson made, including repairs for a Mercedes Benz, Crate & Barrel furniture, and designer counter tools.
According to a victim impact statement penned by Covington Mayor Joe Meyer, it's not the first time Donaldson was caught using city credit cards for personal purchases, though Meyer wrote he believed previous city leadership did not take enough action against her.
"She was found to have engaged in abuse of city credit cards and manipulation of the invoice system in 2012," Meyer wrote. "While the city file is incomplete, Donaldson acknowledged that she had personal invoices entered to be paid for with city funds, that a series of invoices she entered for payment by the city did not have proper documentation and other irregularities in her management of the purchase system."
Meyer wrote that Donaldson was disciplined for that 2012 offense, but again began stealing money from the city — how much of which will never be fully known, because of software changes and faulty record-keeping over the years.
"Having been caught once, and re-engaging in the same conduct, argues for a stricter penalty," wrote Meyer. "The slight slap on the wrist in 2012 was insufficient to deter future criminal conduct."
Another victim impact statement letter, written and signed by Covington Communication Director Dan Hassert and Covington City Attorney David E. Davidson, said Donaldson's crimes are a betrayal to her co-workers, her employer, the people she served "and the very concept of public service."
"We must never lose sight of the fact that the money that Donaldson stole was money that was destined for other things, things that would have improved Covington and its families," reads the letter predominantly written by Hassert.
The letter goes on, listing things city finds were used to buy for Donaldson, instead of things they could have bought for Covington's residents:
"Instead of smoother streets, taxpayers paid for leather purchases from Louis Vuitton and Chanel for Donaldson to show off; Instead of incentives to help small businesses survive the pandemic and protect jobs of Covington workers, taxpayers bought furniture for Donaldson's family to use; Instead of snow plows and police cruisers, they bought parts and repairs for Donaldson's Mercedes Benz; Instead of playground equipment, they bought a patio umbrella and outdoor fireplace so the Donaldsons could entertain their friends; Instead of a new firehouse, they paid to remodel the Donaldson's garage; And instead of fixes to the city's swimming pools, they paid to remodel the Donaldson's master bathroom."
Both of the victim impact statement letters point out that Donaldson's paid restitution has not come close to repaying the amount Donaldson stole from Covington coffers over the years.
"We still don't know how much ground we lost and how much time, energy, and resources we will have to spend to make up that ground. Nor do we know how long it will take," reads the letter written by Hassert. "But we do know that a first step in regaining the public's confidence is by showing them that we, too, are appalled by this theft."
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