Former education official charged with fraud at multiple Missouri schools

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A former education program employee has been charged in connection with fraud involving multiple Missouri school districts.

Platte County, Missouri, District Court Records filed Monday, Oct. 28, show Diane L. Chamberlin, 62, of Dearborn, was charged with fraud in two Missouri school districts.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said that between May 2022 and May 2024, Chamberlin was a contract employee of the Agency Buchanan County R-IV AND North Platte R-1 School districts. During this time, she reviewed her responsibilities Parents as teachersvoluntary early childhood development program.

An investigation into Chamberlin’s practices revealed that she visited families designated as “high needs” or “low needs.” It would charge $90 to visit families with high needs and $70 to visit families with lower needs.

Investigators noted that Chamberlin began receiving a significant amount of money based on documents she documented electronically. However, it was established that the visits she documented never took place.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicated that Chamberlin’s audit found that she did not document visits as required. In total, she collected more than $25,000 for visits she never attended.

Chamberlin was charged with theft in connection with the crime. As of Friday, November 1, she does not appear to be in jail as her bond is $25,000. The hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, at 9:00. No further information was provided.