Former Willard Mayor Sentenced for Fraud

Corey Louis Hendrickson, a former mayor and alderman of Willard, Missouri, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for a five-year scheme that involved stealing nearly $300,000 from over 500 truck drivers. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, admitting to unauthorized access of the drivers' fuel expense accounts while working as a fleet dispatcher for Prime Incorporated. The scheme lasted from September 2016 to August 2021, during which Hendrickson conducted more than 1,000 fraudulent transactions. He will also pay $298,737 in restitution to his victims, whose losses varied significantly. Following his guilty plea on October 24, 2023, Hendrickson resigned from the Willard Board of Aldermen, where he had served since 2022. Local residents have called for a state audit of the city's finances given the overlap of his fraudulent activities with his time in office.