Former Zeigler City Treasurer Ryan Thorpe changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on federal charges of wire fraud and embezzlement Thursday morning in federal court in Benton.

Thorpe is accused of stealing $300,000 from the city from March 2013 until August of last year.

A federal grand jury indicted Thorpe in October on three counts of wire fraud and two counts of embezzlement from a local government. He pled not guilty to the charges last month.

The FBI raided Thorpe’s home and office last August, and an auditor’s report found he had written hundreds of city checks to himself since 2013. He was fired from his job as treasurer in September.

Prosecutors say he covered up the thefts by altering copies of checks in city records to show approved vendors names.

Thorpe’s jury trial was set for March 12. It’s unknown at this time if his trial will happen.