A woman was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for her role in a scheme that stole more than $500,000 from the Bluegrass Stockyards in Albany.
Brittany Gerkey, 39, was sentenced in Clinton Circuit Court by Judge David L. Williams to two five-year concurrent prison terms, with credit for time already served in custody. As part of her sentence, Gerkey was ordered to pay $179,286.44 in restitution to the Clinton Circuit Clerk, starting with an upfront payment of $25,000.
?Gerkey pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to theft by unlawful taking (over $10,000) and first-degree unlawful access to a computer.
According to investigators, Gerkey colluded with former stockyard manager Bret Carver to skim funds from the business between February 2022 and May 2024. A related lawsuit detailed the operation: Carver allegedly entered fake cattle sales into the stockyards' system under real client names to generate payout checks to non-existent sellers. Gerkey then assisted by depositing the fraudulent funds into bank accounts.
Both Gerkey and Carver were arrested on March 12, 2025.
Under the terms of her plea agreement, court documents show Gerkey has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Carver, who is scheduled to stand trial before a jury on Jan. 27 at 9 a.m.
