The District Attorney's Office on Tuesday charged former Chief Financial Officer Randy Allen with communications fraud, a class A misdemeanor. The charge, which Allen denies, alleges that he used his county-provided gas card to buy more than $350 worth of fuel above a legitimate county-vehicle usage.

He "devised a scheme or artifice" to defraud another or to take money, and he communicated that ploy to someone else to conceal or execute it, according to documents filed in 3rd District Court.

Allen admitted in May that he used his county-owned Ford Explorer to twice haul his boat to Lake Powell. He resigned his appointed position and accepted a merit position as the county's planning division finance manager.

His lawyer, Jim C. Bradshaw, said Tuesday that Allen "strongly denies these allegations." County policies regarding vehicle and fuel-card use have a "systemic" problem, the attorney said, and it is unfair to prosecute Allen when he didn't break that policy.

Prosecutors say Allen on several occasions purchased more gasoline than his SUV's tank would hold.

Allen is the second official to face criminal charges as a result of the vehicle scandal, and County Mayor Nancy Workman also has been charged with two felonies for alleged misuse of public money in another scandal.

Former Auditor Craig Sorensen resigned from his long-held office in May and was charged with a second-degree felony of misuse of public money for allegedly stealing more than $10,000 worth of fuel. Sorensen has pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony, but has not been sentenced.

In Allen's case, the charge filed in 3rd District Court says a probe into Allen's vehicle use revealed that he bought gasoline on his county card multiple times in one day, or multiple days in a row. An analysis of Allen's card usage shows he bought more fuel than manufacturer's specifications show he would need at an average of 15 miles per gallon, according to court documents.

The District Attorney's Office has looked into other officials' vehicle use. The office cleared Workman's former legal counsel, Greg Curtis, of any criminal wrongdoing for taking $767 in state reimbursement while he was driving a county-owned-and-fueled SUV. Curtis, who is also the House majority leader, paid the money back to the state.

Allen and the mayor's office also came under fire from critics after he took the merit position and his new salary was bumped up more than 25 percent above the maximum scale for that grade.

Allen's annual salary as chief financial officer had been $103,776 and his new salary is $92,512 per year.

tburr@sltrib.com