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Kanawha County Woman Sentenced to Nine Months for Wire Fraud

Kelli Rucker was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for fraudulently using state purchasing cards.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 18, 2026, 6:30 p.m. ET
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On August 18, 2026, 48-year-old Kelli Rucker of Nitro, West Virginia, also known as "Kelli Engler," was in federal court to nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to official records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber also ordered Rucker to pay $18,472.75 in restitution for wire fraud. According to official court records, Rucker was hired by the West Virginia Division of Labor as an Administrative Services Manager I in 2020 and assigned three state purchasing credit cards. From 2022 through February 2023, Rucker made unauthorized purchases totaling $18,472.75, electronically paying personal expenses such as gas and electric bills, hospital expenses, and cable television bills. As part of her guilty plea, Rucker admitted to her actions, including a $2,200 charge transmitted electronically on January 28, 2023. Official records state that Rucker has prior convictions in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for access device fraud on October 13, 2010, and failure to appear on October 11, 2016. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes under docket number , following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, and the West Virginia Division of Labor. United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the sentence, noting that the case was prosecuted in coordination with federal anti-fraud efforts.

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  1. Version 118 Aug 2026, 22:30current

    First published.

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