Two Utah officials in separate counties have been accused of pocketing public funds — both over the course of multiple years of employment.
The Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office booked a city employee in the small town of Fayette into county jail on Thursday, after detectives found evidence supporting the allegations following an investigation that began at the end of May.
In collaboration with the State Auditor’s Office, the county found evidence the person had transferred about $229,000 from Fayette — using town checks — into his or her bank account since 2009, according to a post on the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Facebook page.
The offices used the suspect’s bank records, which were obtained through warrants, and the town’s bank records to substantiate the claims, the post states. The person was booked on multiple charges of misuse of public money, which is a third-degree felony.
The county did not provide further information about the employee, including his or her full name and role with the city. The sheriff’s office did not respond for an immediate request for comment, nor did town officials.
Separately, Rhonda Larsen, the former lead deputy at the Tooele County Recorder’s Office, was charged in the 3rd District Court with one count of misuse of public money, a second-degree felony.
A recent audit of cash received by the recorder’s office found that $9,458.55 was missing, according to charging documents. Larsen was the county employee who was in charge of the cash receipts and deposits between May 2013 and April 2018, when the money went missing, and she admitted to taking the money for personal use when a detective from the recorder’s office interviewed her, the documents said.
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