OAK HARBOR- Auditor of State Keith Faber has announced a finding for recovery of $26,489, issued against former Oak Harbor income tax assistant Jennifer Valentine.
The former village employee, Jennifer Valentine, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to felony counts of grant theft and attempted theft in office after the auditor’s Special Investigations Unit determined she had pocketed tax payments made by residents, according to a news release issued Feb. 7 by State Auditor Keith Faber.
Village employees had identified suspicious activity, which led to SIU’s investigation. Investigators confirmed payments from 41 taxpayers between Jan. 1, 2019, and April 17, 2019, totaling $7,867 were not deposited into the village’s bank account.
Valentine was sentenced in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court to two years of intervention in lieu of conviction, and ordered to make restitution of $26,489 including $10,122 to the village for the amount stolen and special audit costs, and $16,367 to the state auditor’s office for costs related to the special audit.
Oak Harbor Mayor Quinton Babcock said, “Although the investigation had resulted in a conviction, the process was not officially over until this month — when the state auditors officially posted the audit.“
Now that the audit had been posted, the village can submit a claim against Valentine’s bond — which is a type of insurance policy the village has on all its employee who handles finances, Babcock said.
The restitution to the village includes $7,867 for the amount stolen plus $2,225 for audit costs.
“It’s been a real headache for the village but finally, we have results,” the mayor said.
Since 2019, the state auditor’s Special Investigations Unit has had more than 102 convictions and receives more than a hundred tips on suspected financial fraud annually.