Jeannie Kroenke has been arrested again, less than two months after she was accused of exploiting a 93-year-old woman for more than $33,000.
This time, Shoshoni Police Chief Christopher Konija said the former Shoshoni Chamber of Commerce president stole $8,199.24 from the small-town business organization she was leading.
Kroenke was arrested Friday on a new felony theft charge after chamber members raised concerns about its finances. Investigators say Kroenke used a chamber bank card to make unauthorized cash withdrawals and other transactions between March and June.
Kroenke served as president of the chamber before resigning July 21, days after her first arrest. She is no longer involved in its leadership.
“We want to deeply reassure our local business owners, neighbors, and partners that the Shoshoni Chamber is in excellent health, entirely stable, and fully functional,” the board wrote after her resignation.
The chamber's online directory lists about 20 businesses and organizations.
The board went further, saying its “internal operations, books, and assets” had been “thoroughly verified and are completely untouched.”
Members Went To Police
The new investigation grew directly out of the probe that began with Kroenke's first arrest, Konija told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
Police requested bank statements and began digging through the chamber's finances.
“Upon reviewing requested statements we found numerous instances of questionable transactions of cash withdrawals and confirmed with chamber officials they were not approved transactions and were conducted using a bank card held by Jeannie,” Konija said.
Investigators traced the beginning of the situation to February.
Kroenke told the chamber treasurer she would handle the organization's bank account and transactions while the treasurer was unavailable, Konija said. When the treasurer returned, however, police say there was trouble getting the records back.
Konija said Kroenke refused attempts to get the chamber’s bank statements.
The treasurer eventually obtained online access to the account and saw the transactions, he said. The bank statements were then turned over to Shoshoni police, which obtained search warrants as the investigation progressed.
Konija said investigators are also looking into other organizations with which Kroenke was involved, or where she had access to money for possible misuse of funds.
Kroenke was a visible figure in Shoshoni civic life before the two arrests.
Along with leading the chamber, she served as assistant director of the Shoshoni Senior Center and was one of 11 residents nominated for Shoshoni's Citizen of the Year in 2023.
She also appeared before the Shoshoni Town Council in 2024 asking that the senior center be designated the town's official visitor center, a proposal the council approved.
‘These Charges Are Not True’
Kroenke appeared in Fremont County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon on a charge of felony theft in the aggregate.
The charge alleges that between March 1 and June 30 she engaged in a common scheme and knowingly exercised unauthorized control over, or made an unauthorized transfer of, someone else's property worth $1,000 or more. The felony carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Kroenke told the judge she understood the charge, and she also made clear that she disputes it.
“I can prove that these charges are not true,” she told the court.
She said she needed an opportunity to gather evidence to defend herself, but some of the material she needed was no longer in her possession.
“Unfortunately, when I was arrested the last time all the evidence was collected from my office, so I need to go find all the evidence because these charges are not true,” she said.
Kroenke had been held since her Friday arrest. Because she had been in custody for more than 72 hours, the court had already set an $8,000 cash-only bond Saturday. She hadn't been able to post it by Tuesday's hearing.
Kroenke asked the judge to release her on a signature bond, pointing to her performance while free on bond in the first felony case.
“I had already posted a $10,000 bond,” she said. “I've showed up to court. I've kept in contact with Valerie. I have kept every bond condition.”
Her attorney in both cases is Valerie Schoneberger.
“$10,000 was a lot of money to put up,” Kroenke told the judge before asking for a signature bond.
The judge wasn't willing to give her a signature bond on a felony. He did, however, reduce Kroenke's bond from $8,000 cash to $1,000 cash only.
Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Riverton.
The First Case
Kroenke's latest arrest comes while she remains out on bond and awaiting trial in the felony case that first put her under police scrutiny this summer.
She is charged with one felony count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult involving a 93-year-old woman who relied on the Shoshoni Senior Center, where Kroenke worked as assistant director, for meals, transportation and other assistance.
Investigators allege Kroenke deposited nine checks from the woman into her personal bank account between April 17, 2025, and June 23, 2026.
The checks totaled $33,400.
The investigation began after Wyoming Community Bank flagged a suspicious check. One was for $6,200. The woman told investigators she believed that money was intended as a donation to a historical preservation project at the senior center, while Kroenke disputed that characterization.
Kroenke has maintained that the money she received from the woman was given to her as gifts.
At her Aug. 17 arraignment in Fremont County District Court, Kroenke pleaded not guilty to the exploitation charge, which also carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
District Judge Jason Conder is presiding. Terrance Martin is prosecuting and Schoneberger represents Kroenke.
That case is headed toward a jury trial scheduled for Dec. 10.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
