News

Columbus – The former fiscal officer for the Village of Unionville Center has admitted to stealing more than $81,000 from the Union County community, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced.

Williams pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony counts of theft in office and tampering with records during a hearing in Union County Common Pleas Court.

She came to the attention of the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) during the summer of 2020 when, during the course of a regular review of the Village’s finances, auditors had difficulties obtaining records from her. 

Auditors initially identified numerous checks issued to Williams above and beyond her contracted annual salary of $2,000. SIU determined checks totaling $81,165 were issued to Williams and her husband for their personal use and not for proper public purposes.

Williams was indicted in January 2022. She is scheduled to be sentenced in the case in February.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 97 convictions resulting in more than $4.9 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictions since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.