Fayette County township clerk embezzled thousands, audit shows

The clerk of a township west of Oelwein improperly disbursed at least $3,296 in public money, writing checks to herself between 2003 and 2009, according to a state audit released Thursday.

Anne McClain of rural Fairbank resigned as clerk of Oran Township in the southwest corner of Fayette County in September, and admitted she had embezzled money. Township officials then requested a state audit.

McClain wrote 25 checks to herself during her tenure, Auditor David Vaudt said, and it's impossible to know if she wrote more because of inadequate record-keeping. The checks she issued to herself exceeded her authorized annual salary by $2,655, Vaudt said.

Townships are bodies of government smaller than counties that have limited duties, including management of cemeteries and fire protection and mediation of fence line disputes.

Copies of the report have been filed with the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Fayette County Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office. It is available at

auditor.iowa.gov/specials/index.html