Former Roland town clerk sentenced to prison for theft

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say a former clerk for the town of Roland in eastern Oklahoma has been sentenced to six months in prison for stealing federal funds.

U.S. Attorney Mark Green announced Thursday that 54-year-old Joetta Tyler-Hyde also was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution.

Tyler-Hyde was charged earlier this year with embezzling federal funds from 2009 to 2013 while she worked as the town’s clerk. Court records show she pleaded guilty in March.

Tyler-Hyde’s attorney Rex Earl Starr did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Tyler-Hyde was ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Sept. 15 to begin serving her 6-month sentence. That will be followed by 6 months of home detention and three years of supervised release.