SPRINGFIELD -- A federal grand jury indicted the Christian County assessor for failing to report taxable property. In a separate case, her husband and a farm hand are indicted for making up a false claim of cattle theft.

These are two separate cases but multiple federal charges involving Christian County Assessor Sandra Bryant-Littles, her husband Lonnie Littles and his employee, Jesse Rice.

Bryant-Littles faces federal mail fraud charges that she failed to assess her own property fairly in 2007 and 2008. The indictment says she omitted vehicles, farm equipment and more than 100 head of cattle on which she would have owed taxes.

Lonnie Littles was charged last spring in Douglas County for passing a bad check.

Littles and Rice face charges in a separate indictment. Both men are charged with falsely reporting the theft of 53 head of cattle from the farm of Littleses near Clever. Rice talked to a reporter about the reported theft, which he said happened when the Littleses were on a trip.

“It basically happened on my watch and I'm thinking, ‘What did I do wrong?’” Rice said then.

Rice said then that Littles was searching sale barns in the area and other states to try to find the stolen cattle.

Jesse Rice talked about the theft of cattle from the ranch where he worked for Lonnie Littles last February.

Both men are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud for selling cattle without telling Liberty Bank, where they established a line of credit and used the cattle as collateral.

Officers arrested Bryant-Littles at her county office on Thursday morning. Others arrested Littles and Rice at their homes.

Christian County Presiding County Commissioner John Grubaugh told a reporter that he's saddened to hear about allegations involving a fellow official, but that the County Commission has no power to replace her.

In March, a month after reporting that his cattle were stolen, Littles was charged in Douglas County with a Class C felony of passing a bad check in May 2008 (on an account at Liberty Bank with insufficient funds) for $8,512.90, to T & D Cattle Co., of Ava. On Sept. 8, Littles was charged in Greene County with a misdemeanor of passing a bad check in January 2009 (also on an account at Liberty Bank with insufficient funds) for $295.30, to Main Street Foods.

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Edited news release from the U.S. attorney for Western District of Missouri:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Matt Whitworth, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said Thursday that the Christian County assessor is indicted by a federal grand jury for mail fraud after failing to assess herself for personal property taxes. Her husband and an employee were also indicted, in two separate cases, with bank fraud related to a false cattle theft claim.

Sandra Bryant-Littles, 50, of Clever, is charged in a four-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. Her husband, Lonnie Littles, 61, and an employee, Jesse Rice, 56, both of Clever, are charged in two separate indictments that were also returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. All three indictments were unsealed and made public on Thursday upon the arrests and initial court appearances of the defendants.

“As the elected Christian County Assessor, Sandra Bryant-Littles was charged with the duty to honestly assess property owners for the value of their taxable personal property,” Whitworth said. “The federal indictment alleges that she shirked this duty when it came to her own property. Bryant-Littles allegedly lied on her own assessment forms as part of a scheme to defraud the taxpayers and voters of Christian County.”

Bryant-Littles was arrested at her county office on Thursday morning. Littles and Rice were arrested at their homes on Thursday morning.

According to the federal indictment, Bryant-Littles and her husband, who is not charged in the same indictment, owned personal property under their own names and under the name of Poco Cala Ranch, from Dec. 31, 2006, until Feb. 19, 2009. The indictment alleges that, during that time, Bryant-Littles filed personal property tax assessment lists for herself and for Poco Cala that omitted substantial property that was required to be reported and upon which personal property taxes were owed.

Each of the four counts of mail fraud is related to assessment lists filed for the years 2007 and 2008, for which the county collector mailed two personal property tax bills to Bryant-Littles and two personal property tax bills to Poco Cala Ranch. Investigators believe Bryant-Littles knew these tax bills understated the correct tax that was owed. In each of those years, the indictment says, Bryant-Littles and her husband paid personal property taxes to the government of Christian County that Bryant-Littles knew understated the true and correct tax that was owed.

For 2007 and 2008, investigators believe, Bryant-Littles failed to report or assess personal property tax upon such property as six vehicles, a motorcycle, two tractors, three utility and flat-bed trailers, a horse trailer, and more than 100 head of cattle.

In two separate but related indictments, Littles and Rice, who worked as a ranch hand at Poco Cala Ranch, are each charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Bryant-Littles is not charged in these two indictments. In addition to the conspiracy, Littles is charged with two counts of bank fraud and Rice is charged with one count of bank fraud.

According to the indictments, Littles obtained a $105,000 line of credit from Liberty Bank using his cattle as collateral. Between January 2008 and March 3, 2009, Littles sold at least 63 head of cattle that had been used as collateral without the knowledge or permission of Liberty Bank. In order to conceal the sale, the indictment says, Littles and Rice falsely reported to law enforcement that the cattle had been stolen. Also, Littles allegedly filed a fraudulent insurance claim.

Littles contacted his insurance representative on Dec. 17, 2008, in order to increase his insurance coverage on his cattle from $60,000 to $100,000, according to the indictment. On Feb. 8, 2009, Rice contacted the Christian County Sheriff’s Department to report the theft of 53 head of cattle, although investigators believe he knew that no cattle had been stolen. On the same day, the indictment says, Littles filed a fraudulent insurance claim for $66,250. Rice provided two on-camera interviews to television news regarding the purported cattle theft.

On Feb. 12, 2009, in arranging an on-site inspection of cattle at his residence, Littles told a representative of Liberty Bank that he then had approximately 100 head of cattle remaining on the property. However, the bank representative counted approximately 37 head during the inspection.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. They were investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the state Livestock and Farm Protection Task Force (which includes the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri Water Patrol).