A Colby woman, Shania A. Shanahan, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Wichita on charges of embezzling over $750,000 from her employer, an agricultural cooperative. Shanahan, 39, who served as the former controller and head of the financial division, faces 43 counts of bank fraud, 25 counts of money laundering, and five counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Shanahan is accused of forging 233 checks totaling approximately $753,575 from the co-op’s account between January 2017 and November 2025. She allegedly deposited these funds into her personal bank account, using coworkers’ signatures without their knowledge or consent, which forms the basis for the identity theft charges.
The defendant is further accused of falsifying records to conceal the fraudulent payments, making them appear legitimate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak prosecuting. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.