Grant

GRUNDY CENTER — After a months long investigation, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Conrad woman with first degree theft, a Class C felony, over allegations that she wrote over $23,000 in checks to herself from the accounts of the Southwest Grundy County Emergency Services Association, better known as the Beaman Conrad Emergency Response Team or BCERTS.

Krista Lyn Grant, age 47, was serving as the secretary/treasurer of the BCERTS when the transactions occurred between 2019 and 2023, and she is also the executive director of Conrad’s Chamber/Main Street organization. According to a criminal complaint filed Friday, BCERTS Service Director Jordan Hoy contacted the sheriff’s office about “questionable transactions” on April 20 of this year, and bank records were subpoenaed from Farmers Savings Bank in Beaman as well as GNB and MidwestOne banks in Conrad.

An investigation led by Grundy County Deputy Mike McAteer determined that over a four-year period, “there were 38 transactions completed including checks and credit card transactions from Farmers Savings Bank, along with 12 insufficient funds charges for several checks written, totaling $13,765.88,” and that at GNB Bank, “there were checks written, credit card transactions, debit memos and ATM withdrawals completed on the account” along with insufficient funds charges from that institution for checks written.

“A high percentage of the checks written from the association’s account were made out to Grant herself and deposited into her own accounts at MidwestOne and GNB Banks. The total amount being $9,644.43, making the total from Farmers Savings Bank and GNB over that time period $23,410.31,” the complaint read.

The complaint also alleges that Grant met with Hoy and another member of the BCERTS/SGCESA organization, Jan Hines, on April 18, at the Conrad city hall about the transactions and immediately presented a check for $654.10 from her own personal account for what she said were “mistakes she made involving the association’s account.” At that time, Grant said she would take “100 percent credit for everything,” including $7,400.69 worth of questionable transactions.

Trial and hearing dates related to the matter have not yet been set. An attempt to reach Grant for immediate comment was unsuccessful.