Ex-McCook attorney implicated in embezzlement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado -- Stunned residents of the McCook area couldn't believe it Monday when word started spreading on the Internet that Terry Malcom has been accused of stealing more than $1 million over the course of a decade from the Cascade Metro and Arabian Acres Metro water districts in Teller County, Colorado.

The report brought shudders and head-shaking because Terry Malcom is the man who bilked Southwest Nebraska residents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in his years as an attorney in McCook.

As a result of his misdeeds back then, Malcom was sentenced in March of 1998 to serve two to six years in prison for theft by deception and one to three years for second degree forgery. In passing sentence, District Judge John Murphy of North Platte said, "Basically, what it comes down to is how bad has the fabric of society been torn ..."

In a funding ripoff that left many families short of funds that they thought were safe, Malcom made away with vast amounts of money, including $300,000 from the Eugene Schaffert estate and life insurance proceeds. Malcom was 49 years at the time of his sentencing in 1998, so his age now would be 64 or 65.

Nebraska Supreme Court document here.

The alleged ripoffs in Colorado was eerily similar to the ones in the McCook area.

"We are going up a creek without a paddle," said Jim Nash, president of the Arabian Acres Property Owners Association.

He spoke out after an audit revealed a $100,000 loan obtained to build new wells was missing. That was in addition to approximately $106,000 in general funds that were unaccounted for. Malcom, who as trusted with the money by the Colorado water district, stood accused of stealing it.

Back in November of 2013, the Arabian Acres Property Owners Association said they had not heard from Malcom since his departure in the summer of 2013. "We really don't know what he is doing for a living at this time," said Marty Cook, vice president for the Arabian Acres Property Owners Association.

The missing funds allegedly stolen by Malcom in Colorado include:

* Cascade Metro District: $825,000

* Arabian Acres Metro District: $206,000

* Total unaccounted funds: $1,031,000

"Give us our damn money back," Nash said via television station KOAA in a desperate attempt to have Malcom hear the property owners' plea.

Calls to Colorrado news sources by the Gazette Tuesday failed to turn up any updated information about Malcom's status or whereabouts.