Karen Lakey Indicted - $159,477.55 IMSHOF Embezzlement
Summary
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment and arrest of Karen Lakey, former bookkeeper for the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame (IMSHOF), on one count of use of public employment for personal gain. The indictment charges Lakey with obtaining $159,477.55 in IMSHOF funds for personal gain. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $30,000 fine as a class B felony.
What changed
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment of Karen Lakey, former bookkeeper for the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame (IMSHOF), on one count of use of public employment for personal gain, a class B felony. The indictment charges that Lakey obtained $159,477.55 of IMSHOF funds for personal gain or the gain of a family member during her employment as bookkeeper. The investigation followed an audit by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.\n\nNonprofit organizations and entities receiving public oversight should monitor this case, as it demonstrates active enforcement of embezzlement laws involving public employment positions. Museum and nonprofit financial controls may face increased scrutiny following this prosecution.
What to do next
- Monitor for further developments in the case
Penalties
Maximum 20 years imprisonment and $30,000 fine
Archived snapshot
Apr 11, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Indictment of Former International Motor Sports Hall of Fame Bookkeeper
View PDF For Immediate Release:
April 10, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today the indictment and arrest of former International Motor Sports Hall of Fame employee Karen Lakey, 56, of Munford, on one count of the use of public employment for personal gain or gain of a family member. Lakey turned herself into the Talladega County Sheriff’s Office without incident.
The Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division obtained an indictment of Lakey after an investigation stemming from the audit conducted by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame (IMSHOF). At the time of the conduct charged in the indictment, Lakey was the bookkeeper for IMSHOF.
The indictment charges Lakey with using her position as bookkeeper of IMSHOF to obtain all or a portion of $159,477.55 of IMSHOF funds for her own gain or the gain of a family member.
If convicted, Lakey faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine for the use of public employment for personal gain, which is a class B felony. No further information about the investigation or the alleged crimes may be released at this time.
Attorney General Marshall thanked the Department of the Examiners of Public Accounts and the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame for their assistance during the investigation of this matter.
** An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.*
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