Woman Sentenced to Two Years for Embezzling From Jackson County School District

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Danielle Mittermeyer, 47, Conrath, Wisconsin, has been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to two years in federal prison for embezzling money from a federally funded organization. The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release. As part of her sentence, Mittermeyer was ordered to pay $261,690 in restitution. Mittermeyer pleaded guilty to the charge on May 7, 2026, and paid restitution before sentencing.

Mittermeyer previously worked as the business official for the School District of Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan, also known as the Lincoln School District. In that role, she was responsible for making payments for the district, collecting and depositing cash, and tracking finances. Between 2021 and 2025, she embezzled more than a quarter million dollars through a variety of means, including skimming cash and using district funds to pay the balance on her personal credit card. She concealed her criminal conduct from the district and its auditors by duplicating invoices from legitimate vendors, altering check reports presented to the school board, setting herself and her credit card company up as vendors in the district's accounting software, and keeping a second (fraudulent) cash receipt book.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson explained that Mittermeyer's conduct was not the result of a one-time mistake or lapse of judgment. She embezzled money over multiple years, even as she attended meetings where the district's resulting financial difficulties were discussed. Judge Peterson did not accept Mittermeyer's assertion that she did not realize the scope or impact of her crime while she was committing it, noting that Mittermeyer is an accountant and knows how to track money. Her conduct, according to the judge, rose to the level of "almost cruelty."

The charge against Mittermeyer was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan R. Stelljes prosecuted this case.