Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov

Columbus – The former financial secretary/fiscal officer of the Hartford Independent Agricultural Society in Licking County has been indicted on theft and related counts, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced Tuesday.

Brooke Williams-Browning faces one count of theft, one count of telecommunications fraud, two counts of forgery, and two counts of tampering with records, all felonies. The indictment was handed down by a Licking County Grand Jury, and her arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 2.

The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit began working with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office in early 2020 after learning that Williams-Browning had allegedly stolen about $14,000 from the Hartford Fair. A subsequent investigation revealed Williams-Browning had made $30,294.77 in improper credit/debit card purchases and issued $5,820.63 in checks to herself that had no proper public purpose.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 84 convictions resulting in more than $2.7 million in restitution (Map of SIU Convictions Since January 2019: https://ohioauditor.gov/fraud/convictions_map.html). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364).

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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 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.