Former State Fair finance director to pay back $160,000 stolen from fair

Kopke is to serve 30 days in prison and pay $1000 a month.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KLKN) – Judge Andrew Butler ordered Patrick Kopke, the former State Fair finance director, to pay back nearly $160,000 stolen from the Nebraska State Fair.

The judge ordered Kopke to serve 30 days in jail and 15 years of probation. Kopke also has to pay $1000 a month to pay back what he stole.

A judge agreed to Kopke’s no contest plea to three counts of theft by unlawful taking – more than $5,000 and found him guilty in August.

After resigning from the fair in 2019, A state audit showed the fair paid nearly $150,000 without proper documentation to a business Kopke registered in 2019.