Former Warren County Assessor Wendy (Nordwald) Kozma was found in criminal contempt and remanded to Warren County Jail following her hearing Friday, Dec. 5.

Kozma appeared Friday on an order to show cause regarding a motion for criminal contempt filed Sept. 30 by the Warren County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Following the presentation of testimony at Friday’s hearing, Circuit Court Judge Sonya Brandt reminded Kozma that she was present in court because she pleaded guilty to taking a substantial amount of money.

“This is a very, very serious matter,” Judge Brandt said.

“Why we are here today is we don’t have the information, the state doesn’t have the information that I ordered you to provide to the state,” Brandt said.

On July 18, 2025, the court granted the state’s request and ordered Nordwald to give prosecutors financial documents including her federal tax returns and those of her husband from 2017 to present within 60 days as well as other records relating to bank statements relating to her and her husband.

Brandt said Kozma has essentially ignored the judge’s order regarding tax returns and bank statements during Friday’s hearing.

“This isn’t a game that we’re playing,” Brandt said. “The order was entered in July, and here we are in December...You can’t just wait until everybody is inconvenienced and brought back to court before you comply with my order.”

Brandt found Kozma in criminal contempt and remanded Kozma into the custody of the Warren County Jail. Kozma’s attorney Ella Boone-Conley asked if Kozma could purge her contempt by providing the tax documents she brought with her for the Friday hearing. Brandt said she would allow her to do that, but that Kozma would remain in custody until such time as the prosecuting attorney’s office confirmed they had the information Kozma was ordered to provide, or until her next court hearing.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Grant Folkmann presented evidence for the state, by calling Paralegal Andrea Mohrmann. Mohrmann testified that Kozma was required to provide tax returns, bank statements, retirement statements and Social Security documents from 2017 to present for her and 2019 to present for Kozma’s spouse. Mohrmann testified only the 2023 and 2024 tax returns for Kozma and her spouse had been provided and no bank account statements had been provided. Mohrmann testified the state had received a letter from October 2024 denying disability benefits for Kozma.

Kozma later testified in her own defense that she had not received any funds for her disability claims. Kozma testified she recently received documentation that fully approved her for disability benefits in late October and that she brought the paperwork with her to the court hearing. Kozma said she doesn’t currently have a bank account, and hasn’t had one for approximately two years. Kozma testified that instead she uses a One Card debit card from Walmart, which is a pre-paid debit card. She testified that her husband also uses a Walmart One Card. Kozma also testified that she had the tax returns for her from 2017 to 2022, but had no other documentation to provide. On cross-examination Kozma testified that she hasn’t worked anywhere since she went on probation.

In the court’s order following the hearing, the court found that Kozma willfully violated the court’s previous orders and ordered her to be committed to the Warren County Jail until her probation revocation hearing set for Dec. 23. The order further stated that if her contempt has been purged by providing all of the necessary documentation to the state prior to the Dec. 23 hearing, her attorney may file a motion to the court for her release prior to that date.

Kozma, who now lives in Florida, was convicted of 15 counts of stealing in 2022 for embezzling over $250,000 from the Missouri State Assessors Association. She was sentenced to pay $213,000 in restitution and four months in prison in lieu of a 10-year prison sentence.