A former Village of Swanton city official has been ordered to pay the village thousands in restitution and serve over a year in prison after she was convicted of stealing from the community.
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said in a press release that Judge Scott Haselman sentenced Kari Rowe, who was the utility clerk for the Village of Swanton, to 18 months in prison on theft in office charge, a third-degree felony, after admitting she stole nearly $64,000 from the Fulton County community. Haselman ordered Rowe to pay over $128,000 in restitution, including the funds she stole and audit costs, to the Village of Swanton.
Rowe, of Wauseon, was the village’s utility clerk for 16 years serving in the position from May 2002 until her resignation in January 2018.
According to Faber, the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) began an inquiry into Rowe after seeing significant irregularities while examining Swanton’s financial records.
“The law enforcement division of the office opened an investigation into Rowe after serious anomalies were discovered during an audit of Swanton’s finances for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, including utility payments that were not deposited into the village bank account,” Faber said.
The Special Investigations Unit’s inquiry discovered that Rowe misappropriated more than $64,000 in funds from the village.
A grand jury indicted Rowe in October 2022 in Fulton County Common Pleas Court on theft in office and tampering with evidence charges. She took a plea deal and entered a guilty plea on the theft in office charges in February, also in the Fulton County Common Pleas Court. Rowe will serve her prison sentence at the Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio.
According to Faber, Rowe’s sentencing entry was filed on April 21.
This is the second theft charge against a Village of Swanton employee in the last three years.
The former superintendent of wastewater services for Swanton, Steven Geise of Delta, pled guilty to a theft charge in December 2021 after an indictment claimed that he had either stolen money or authorized the use of his office in the execution of the crime. He received a year of community control, had to perform 90 hours of volunteer work, and had to pay $1,326.06 in restitution to the Village of Swanton. His community control ended early in July of 2022 when he paid the village back.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Background Photo “Courtroom” by Carol M. Highsmith.
