State auditors claim former Beaver County worker took government money

BEAVER – State auditors say a former Beaver County employee may have taken thousands of dollars in county money.  They say a secretary was misusing a county agency’s debit card and even signing checks to themselves.

The state auditor’s office spent months looking into the financial records of the Beaver County Waste Management Service District Number Five, and they found very suspicious activity pointing to one person.

“We found out this former secretary was using the district’s debit card for personal purchases,” says Utah State Auditor John Dougall.

In all, Dougall says $38 thousand were misappropriated, and they believe many of the reviews that the secretary was supposed to perform were never done.

Dougall adds, “Then, there was another over $10 thousand or purchases that we questioned, either because they lacked appropriate approvals and documentation or they were of questionable business purpose.”

They also have serious questions about the district’s payroll, which the secretary may have altered.

“Every single time card for 2017 had hand edits made by the former secretary which causes us to question the integrity of those time cards,” Dougall says.

The auditor’s office doesn’t have the authority to recommend charges, but, they do recommend investigations where they’re needed.  However, in this case, the investigation had already begun.

“We have been working very closely with the Beaver County Attorney as we were going through out audit,” he says.