Tiffin condo association president accused of stealing funds

A former acting president of a condominium association in Tiffin is now facing a felony theft charge after authorities say she used thousands of the association's money for personal purposes like paying house bills and parking ramp fees at the University of Iowa and buying gas and gifts.

Kelli Kay Holton, 30, of Tiffin, was arrested Thursday after a months-long investigation of her handling of funds for the condominium association at 425 Kimberlite St., according to a criminal complaint.

Holton, according to the complaint, was the acting president of the association in 2010 and 2011, meaning she was responsible for paying the bills and keeping up the property, where she also lived. During her time at the helm, garbage collection stopped due to non-payment of bills, and the association's insurance company called to complain that premiums had not been paid, Johnson County sheriff's deputies reported.

Bankers also notified the association about overdraft charges on the association's account, according to the complaint. An audit of the account revealed that Holton spent more than $3,000 of the association's money on unauthorized purchases, the complaint states.

Holton told investigators that she “must have used the association's checkbook by mistake, thinking that she was using her own checkbook,” according to the complaint.

Holton was released from the Johnson County Jail on Friday morning.

Second-degree theft is a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.