The Independence School District says the personal information of all of its employees, including those at Van Horn High School, has been stolen in a phishing scam. CREDIT SAM ZEFF
A major data breach is being investigated in the Independence School District.
The school district employees were alerted to the scam in an email sent last Thursday.
In it, the business office says the “the names, social security numbers, addresses and earnings” of every employee was stolen in a phishing scam, where the crooks use fake emails or websites to steal person information.
The information was used to file fraudulent income tax returns, according to the email.
A fraud investigation is underway by the FBI and the Independence Police Department.
The district urged those who received a letter from the IRS saying their social security number was used to file a fraudulent return to file their own police complaint.
Police say as of Monday at least 15 district employees have done so.
According to the police report filed by the district the scam happened on Jan. 20th. It was report to IPD a month later.
“Upon learning of the issue, our school district team promptly began an investigation, notified law enforcement, engaged cybersecurity professionals to assist us, and took steps to prevent further unauthorized access,” according to the email.
RENO COUNTY — A hearing was held Monday for a convicted Kansas sex offender seeking relief from his life in prison sentence. The Kansas Court of Appeals recently upheld the conviction and sentence.
Salvador Araujo-Gutierrez, 29, was originally found guilty of one count of rape and one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced on one Jessica’s law convictions with a life sentence and no chance of parole for 25 years. The encounters occurred between 2006 and 2011
At the hearing on Monday, Araujo-Gutierrez attorney Derek Miller of Liberal argued ineffective counsel by Kelly Driscoll who was with the local Public Defenders Office.
Driscoll who now practices law in Johnson County took the stand to answer questions over what Miller sees as errors at trial including bringing up a prior bad act of stealing tools from a family member, but also the fact that he may have been in this country illegally.
Driscoll had trouble recalling the specifics of why she did certain things at the trial in June of 2013.
Judge Tim Chambers will make a ruling on the civil motion.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Moody, a ratings agency, is criticizing Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of tax legislation, saying it represents a “credit negative” to Kansas.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Brownback vetoed a bill that would’ve raised personal income taxes and reinstated a third tax bracket Wednesday.
Brownback called it a “punitive tax increase on working Kansans.”
The Legislature attempted to override the veto hours later. However, the veto fell short in the Senate.
Moody’s senior analyst, Dan Seymour, says Kansas will keep struggling to balance its budget if it continues with a lower-tax policy.
He says the state’s credit may be at risk in the future.
The vetoed bill would’ve raised more than $590 million next fiscal year.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say smoldering cigarettes and burning candles accidentally sparked the southern Kansas house fire that killed an Arizona man.
The Hutchinson Fire Department said firefighters found 44-year-old Jason Conrad of Tucson dead inside the first-floor apartment shortly after the fire early Saturday.
The city’s interim fire chief, Doug Hanen, said Monday that the fire began a couch, and that Conrad’s body was found to be partially blocking the entrance door.
GREENWOOD COUNTY – Two people died in an accident just before 6:30a.m. on Monday in Greenwood County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Scion XB driven by Haynie, Bambi J. Haynie, 38, Herington, was eastbound on U.S. 400 just west of Z Road.
The vehicle crossed the center line hit a westbound 2004 Chevy Avalanche driven by Tanner W. McMullen, 17, Fall River. The Avalanche caught fire and came to rest in the West bound ditch.
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GREENWOOD COUNTY -The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal head-on crash
Just before 6:30 a.m., a 2008 Scion XB was eastbound on U.S. 400 just west of Z Road.
The vehicle crossed the center line hit a westbound vehicle head-on.
The westbound vehicle caught fire and came to rest in the West bound ditch.
Additional details on the accident were not released.
Wichita civil rights lawyer James Thompson is the Democratic candidate for the 4th Congressional District seat. CREDIT COURTESY OF THE THOMPSON CAMPAIGN
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Democratic candidate James Thompson says the special election to fill the congressional seat left vacant by CIA Director Mike Pompeo in Kansas will be a referendum on the policies of the state’s Republican governor and those of President Donald Trump.
His comments came Monday during his first news conference in a race that is playing out amid a backlash in Kansas against the ultra-conservative agenda championed by Gov. Sam Brownback.
Thompson portrayed his Republican opponent, State Treasurer Ron Estes, as a “Brownback clone” who wants to take those failed economic policies and nationalize them.
Estes did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
Thompson called the news conference to urge a crackdown on human trafficking â an issue he says is consistent with his campaign of fighting for families.
SEDGWICK COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a burglary and asking for help to identify suspects.
Just after 4a.m. Sunday, residents in Clearwater experienced several auto burglaries. The subjects attempted to use a credit card stolen in one of the burglaries at the Walmart.
They appear to be driving a larger black SUV, possibly a Ford Expedition, with a large New England Patriots sticker in the rear window.
Anyone recognizing either of these subjects, or the SUV, is encouraged to call the Clearwater Police Dept. at 620-584-2312
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly shooting at a Kansas bar that some witnesses said was racially motivated (all times local):
2 p.m.
The man jailed following an apparently racially motivated bar shooting last week waived a formal reading of the charges Monday and was appointed a public defender.
Adam Purinton, 51, of Olathe, appeared by closed-circuit TV before a Johnson County District Court judge on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. According to witnesses, Purinton yelled “get out of my country” at two 32-year-old Indian men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, before he opened fire at Austin’s Bar and Grill in the Kansas City suburb on Wednesday evening.
Kuchibhotla was killed and Madasani injured. A third patron, Ian Grillot, 24, was wounded when he tried to intervene.
Public defender Michael McCulloch declined to comment. Purinton’s next court appearance is set for March 9.
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10:30 a.m.
A Missouri bartender told a 911 dispatcher that a patron said he killed “two Iranian people” just hours after a shooting 70 miles away at a suburban Kansas City bar left one Indian man dead and another hurt.
In a recording of the 911 call made early Thursday, the bartender at the Applebee’s in Clinton, Missouri, is heard saying the man made her promise she wouldn’t call police.
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton was arrested soon afterward. He’s charged with murder and attempted murder in the shooting in Olathe, Kansas, that some witnesses said was racially motivated.
The bartender tells the dispatcher that the man initially said the shootings occurred at a gas station, not a bar.
She says the man asked if he can stay with her and her husband.
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8:40 a.m.
A man who was wounded while trying to intervene in a suburban Kansas City bar shooting that left an Indian man dead and another wounded says he’s “grateful” the attack is bringing the community together.
The University of Kansas Health System released a video Sunday of an interview with 24-year-old Ian Grillot, of Grandview, Missouri, who is recovering after a bullet went through his right hand and into his chest. Some witnesses described the Wednesday night shooting in Olathe, Kansas, as racially motivated.
Grillot said he had to do something because there were families and children in the bar when the gunfire erupted. Grillot, who is white, also says it is “awesome honestly to be able to give people a hope that not everybody hates everybody.”
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12:50 a.m.
One of three men shot at a bar in suburban Kansas City spoke at a weekend vigil, saying “I wish it was a dream.”
The Kansas City Star reports (https://bit.ly/2mkJVIS ) 32-year-old Alok Madasani told a crowd of hundreds at the Ball Conference Center in Olathe, Kansas, on Sunday that “what happened that night was a senseless crime and that took away my best friend.”
Madasani’s friend and co-worker, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed in Wednesday night’s shooting at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe. Another patron, 24-year-old Ian Grillot, also was wounded in the shooting.
Madasani said the shooting was “an isolated incident that doesn’t reflect the true spirit of Kansas, the Midwest and the United States.”
Fifty-one-year-old Adam Purinton is scheduled to appear in court Monday to face charges of murder and attempted murder.
SALINE COUNTY – Police are investigating a second suspect in connection with a Thursday afternoon shooting in Salina.
Police arrested Maddilynn J. Small, 18, in McPherson early Monday morning on drug charges following a traffic stop, according to Captain Paul Forrester. She also had a gunshot wound to her arm.
Authorities believe Small was a passenger in the maroon Chevy truck that 22-year-old Tyler Reinbold was in when he was shot in the parking lot in the 1500 Block of East Iron.
Witnesses described a white female with blonde hair and wearing dark clothing fleeing the scene.
Capt. Forrester says Small was also shot during the incident. She traveled to Topeka before being picked up in McPherson, according to Forrester.
Friday afternoon, Police picked up 19-year-old Brooklyn McKnight in connection with the shooting.
Authorities believe McKnight, Reinbold and Small were all passengers in the vehicle when McKnight shot Reinbold twice, once in the stomach and once in the calf.
Reinbold was originally hospitalized in critical condition. He recovered enough to provide police with information on McKnight and Small.
McKnight faces attempted first-degree murder charges for the shooting.
Police are also looking for a fourth suspect, according to Forrester.
EDWARDS COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Edwards County are investigating a fatal weekend stabbing and have a suspect in custody, according to Edwards County Attorney Mark Frame.
Just after 1p.m. on Saturday, authorities were called to a home at 112 Massachusetts Street in Kinsley, according to Frame.
Deputies arrested Jason Rae Stone, 37, Kinsley, for the stabbing of 52-year-old Daniel J. O’Brien, just recently of Kinsley, according to a Frame.
On Monday, the county attorney filed a 2nd– degree criminal count of murder against Stone.
The single count is charged as a Severity Level 1, Person Felony. This is defined as an intentional killing of another.
Stone is being held at the Edwards County Jail on a bond in the amount of $100,000.
He has previous convictions in Kiowa County for drugs and trafficking contraband, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
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EDWARDS COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Edwards County are investigating a fatal weekend stabbing and have a suspect in custody, according to County Attorney Mark Frame.
Just after 1p.m. on Saturday, authorities were called to a residence near first and Massachusetts in Kinsley, according to Frame.
Additional details on what led to the stabbing, the arrest and names of those involved will be released later Monday.
WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in southern Kansas’ Cowley County say the body of a man’s body has been found in a pond more than a month after he was last seen. Cowley County Sheriff David Falletti said in a news release that the body of 32-year-old Cole Hartung last Thursday. He’d gone missing Jan. 18.
