Campaign treasurer jailed on mail fraud charge

[The Northerner]

A federal fraud charge against a Burbank accountant who has served as treasurer on hundreds of political campaigns centers on her work for a California state Assembly member, authorities said on Sunday.

Kinde Durkee was arrested on Friday afternoon at the office of her firm, Durkee & Associates in Burbank, and is charged with one count of mail fraud, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. The arrest was first reported by the Orange County Register.

Durkee is scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The prosecution's complaint against her "focuses on transactions involving the account of a single member of the Assembly, but our investigation is continuing," said Laura Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento. The complaint itself hasn't been released.

Horwood declined to identify the Assembly member whose account was allegedly involved or the period of time during which the conduct allegedly took place.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/campaign-treasurer-jailed-on-mail-fraud-charges.html