A woman who stole money from a college foundation and an organization for recovering alcoholics is accused of tax fraud worth thousands of dollars.

Alison Craft Klug, 42, of Mound, is charged with four felony counts of filing false income tax returns in 2016 and between 2018 and 2020, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Klug knowingly overstated her withholding amounts compared with the amounts on her W-2, according to the release.

She also failed to report money she stole in 2016 as income, according to the release. Officials believe Klug owes more than $16,000 in income tax, penalties and interest. If convicted, each tax felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Klug pleaded guilty to six counts of theft by swindle in 2017. She stole $181,500 from North Hennepin Community College Foundation in Brooklyn Park and $19,000 from the Tonka Alano Society, an organization for recovering alcoholics, in Mound, according to a criminal complaint. She was hired full time as a bookkeeper for the foundation in 2015. An internal investigation determined Klug generated duplicate checks for herself, created fictitious people in the paycheck database and forged her supervisor's signature on phony paychecks.

An investigator found Klug also made deposits into her bank account from the Tonka Alano Society. He was told by a representative of the organization that Klug was a volunteer lead treasurer and should not be receiving payments. When the organization checked its account, only $5 remained.

Alex Chhith • 612-673-4759