Columbus – A former Madison County Juvenile Court probation officer who in April pleaded guilty to theft in office has repaid the $1,815 she stole from a probationer, according to an audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost. 

During the audit period, former Chief Probation Officer Tammy Stoops received $1,815 in restitution payments from one of her probationers but never deposited the funds into the county bank account. Instead, Stoops had the county remit the restitution amount owed to victims by obtaining $1,815 from a grant fund. 

“You have to stoop pretty low to swindle money intended for victims of crime,” Auditor Yost said. “Thankfully, she’ll never have the chance to do it again.”

A finding for recovery in the full amount was issued against Stoops, who repaid the court department on April 12, 2016. She was sentenced to probation in July and is prohibited from ever holding another position of trust. 

The audit also found the county auditor failed to complete bank reconciliations until several months after year end. When the reconciliations were completed, an unreconciled balance of $70,412 remained. According to the report, failure to complete timely reconciliations “can lead to errors and/or irregularities going undetected for a significant amount of time.”

The report recommends the county implement procedures to ensure reconciliations are completed at least on a monthly basis. The county also should verify all reconciling items are accounted for and confirm the book and bank balances are in agreement.

A full copy of this report is available online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 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.

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Beth Gianforcaro
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