Ex-Oklahoma Beef Council accountant pleads guilty to fraud

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A former accountant for the Oklahoma Beef Council has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $2.6 million from the nonprofit organization.
Court records show 45-year-old Melissa Day Morton of Edmond pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of bank fraud and filing a false federal income tax return as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed not to pursue any other charges against her.
Morton’s attorney has said she’s remorseful and was selling her assets to repay the money.
Prosecutors have said Morton wrote about 790 fraudulent checks to herself from the Beef Council’s bank account between 2009 and 2016 in order to fund a children’s clothing boutique she opened with her family in 2011.
Morton faces up to 33 years in prison with sentencing expected in about 90 days.