Columbus – The former fiscal director for the Wood County Juvenile Court took court deposits home and used the money as a personal loan to herself, according to an audit of the county released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“The public purse is not a pay day loan outfit,” Auditor Yost said. “Even if you plan on repaying every cent – it’s still theft.  Keep your sticky fingers out of the till!”

At the end of each day, funds collected by the Wood County Juvenile Court were placed in an envelope and given to Fiscal Director Christy Manley to secure in her locked office overnight. The following day, Manley was responsible for reconciling receipts to the funds in the envelope before preparing and making the deposit at the bank. 

Based on records from January 2012 to May 2015, auditors determined that Manley failed to make timely deposits for a total of $53,909, including $28,675 in cash. Manley admitted that she took the deposits home in her work bag and used the cash to make personal expenditures --eventually returning the money when she was able.

Manley withheld making the deposits on a total of 89 occasions until she was able to replace the stolen cash. Deposits were delayed anywhere from a few days to a few years. She eventually replaced the money for all but one deposit, which was supposed to be made on November 28, 2012. When the deposit was located on June 5, 2015, it contained $707 in stale-dated checks, and the cash portion was $20 short.

A finding for recovery in the amount of $727 was issued against Manley for the money she did not replace. She repaid this amount on August 17, 2015 and resigned from her position during the course of the audit. 

These findings have been forwarded to the Wood County prosecutor. A full copy of this audit may be accessed online.

###

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,800 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.