COLUMBUS – A finding for recovery of $5,804 was issued Thursday against the former fiscal officer of Jefferson Township in Montgomery County over fraudulent checks that resulted from her failure to complete monthly bank account reconciliations.

Tracey Edwards and her bonding company are jointly and severally liable for the total, which was identified as part of an audit of the township’s finances from Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The full report is available online via Search Audits (ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx).

As fiscal officer, Edwards was responsible for reconciling the township’s bank balance monthly. However, she failed to reconcile records in a timely manner in 2023, resulting in four fraudulent checks totaling $5,804 being paid.

According to auditors, “By the time Ms. Edwards completed the reconciliations, neither the bank nor the county prosecutor was able to take steps to recover or dispute the misappropriated funds. The loss of these funds was therefore the result of Ms. Edwards’ negligence and does not represent a proper public purpose.”

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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 Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.