Ryan Thorpe, the former treasurer of Zeigler was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from the city over a four-year period.

Thorpe was indicted by a federal grand jury on the charges of wire fraud and embezzlement from a local government.

Thorpe was accused of stealing more than $315,000 from the city of Ziegler  between Jan. 1st, 2013, and Aug. 31st, 2017. The theft was uncovered by an audit and an FBI raid.

Thorpe attorney Randy Patchett asked U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle for leniency, noting his client’s attempts to support his family and his cooperation with prosecutors.

In sentencing Thorpe on Tuesday, Yandle said she couldn’t exercise more compassion or care for Thorpe’s family than Thorpe did in defrauding the citizens he was hired to serve.