Two officials sentenced for theft of public funds

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(The Center Square) – A former fiscal officer for the village of New Concord who stole more than $450,000 in taxpayer funds has been sentenced to seven years in prison, according to Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber.

The state launched an investigation after a local bank contacted village officials about suspicious activity in a dormant village bank account, the Faber’s office said in a news release.

The state “identified multiple check, debit, and other unauthorized withdrawals,” by Lynn Marlatt, the village fiscal officer.

Marlatt altered vendor invoices and village checks to hide her theft, the state said. Marlatt used the stolen funds to pay her debts for personal expenses.

She was fired from her job in 2023 and in December, she pleaded guilty to felony counts of theft in office, telecommunications fraud, and tampering with records, the state said. In addition to her prison sentence, Marlatt has been ordered to pay the village $475,521 in restitution.

New Concord, 75 miles east of Columbus, has a population of around 2,100 It was the boyhood home of astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn.

In another case, the former executive director of an Ohio chamber of commerce is headed to prison for stealing more than $60,000 from the organization.

Miranda Jones, former executive director of the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce, pleaded guilty to charges including identity fraud, grand theft and forgery, according to the auditor’s office, which also investigated the case.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office requested the auditor’s office investigate after chamber board members spotted what they believed to be criminal activities.

Investigators “identified personal purchases made by Jones using the chamber’s credit card, falsified records, and improper cash withdrawals, among multiple other schemes by Jones,” the auditor’s office said.

Last year, the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce merged with the Bucyrus Chamber to create the Crawford County Chamber.

Jones paid $115,310 in restitution, including $64,007.31 to the now-Crawford County Chamber of Commerce and $51,303 in audit costs.