The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri has charged the former police chief and city administrator of Velda City, Missouri, with serious financial misconduct. According to the indictment filed yesterday, Daniel Paulino is accused of misappropriating $313,420 in municipal funds through a series of fraudulent activities.
In a detailed indictment, Paulino is confronted with three counts of wire fraud. Allegations state that he irresponsibly used the city's credit card to make approximately 828 personal charges totaling about $145,428. Furthermore, the indictment charges that in 17 separate instances, Paulino transferred nearly $43,870 from city coffers to businesses he and his spouse owned, only to then funnel those funds into his private bank accounts. Allegedly, Paulino was adept enough not only to take, but to seemingly cloak his steps, momentarily returning about $58,171 from his accounts to Velda City's, potentially in an attempt to obscure the trail of his purported crimes.
The prosecution's case outlines additional breaches of trust, accusing Paulino of exploiting city checks and Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions to pay for personal items, including a tow truck, while padding his and his spouse's bank accounts with unauthorized payroll deposits. His spouse is accused of receiving approximately $54,693 in city funds for work in the public works division that was not performed, detailed in the same indictment.
These transactions occurred without the authorization or knowledge of Velda City's key officials, the indictment reports. Paulino, who served as the police chief until the department's dissolution in 2024 and was appointed city administrator in 2021, allegedly used the stolen funds for various personal expenditures, such as travel, automobiles, housing utilities, and more. The case furthers, declaring that during his tenure, Paulino caused three checks totaling $1,800 to be deceitfully issued to himself.
Daniel Paulino, now 51, faces the legal consequences of these accusations. It must be remembered that an indictment is not a declaration of guilt; Paulino is entitled to a presumption of innocence unless he is proven guilty in court. The FBI conducted the investigation leading to his indictment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is in charge of the prosecution. The developments in this case will be followed closely as it proceeds through the judicial system.
