DCI investigating missing Tama funds

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is continuing efforts to identify the Tama County employee who stole at least $6,500 in cash bonds last year.

The Tama County Sheriff's Office turned the investigation over to the DCI, according to Chief Deputy Dave Ruopp, and Courtney Greene, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the DCI is investigating the theft. Neither could provide any details of the investigation.

The missing funds were disclosed Monday in a state auditor's report that identified $6,500 of undeposited collections – three cash bonds ranging from $1,000 to $3,500 received between Feb. 23 and June 5, 2009, from people who posted bail for an inmate.

The audit report suggests that the amount of missing funds could be substantially larger. Using the numerical sequence of receipts issued by the Sheriff's Office between Jan. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2009, the audit also identified 61 receipts that could not be found. “Therefore, we are unable to determine the amount received or what the payment was for,” the report said.

The Iowa Judicial Department asked the Auditor's Office to conduct the special investigation after a preliminary investigation found that cash bonds – which can be accepted by either the Clerk of Court's Office or the Sheriff's Office – had not been properly deposited.

The three undeposited cash bonds had been initially received by the Sheriff's Office and should have been remitted to the Clerk's Office for deposit.

Because the cash bonds were not recorded on the bond receipt log maintained by the Clerk's Office, the auditors were unable to determine if the money was received by the Clerk's Office and not deposited or if the Sheriff's Office did not properly remit them.

Noting that several people in each office had access to the funds, the auditors said they are “unable to determine who may have misappropriated the $6,500.”

The auditors' report also states that the Sheriff's Office received an anonymous letter referring to the three missing cash bonds on Aug. 12, 2009. Attached to the letter were the crumpled Sheriff's Office receipts for the three cash bonds allegedly found in the trash in a local bar's women's restroom.

The author of the letter alleged that a Clerk's Office employee had been in the restroom prior to the discovery of the receipts.

The audit report also includes recommendations to strengthen the controls at both the Clerk's Office and the Sheriff's Office, such as limiting the number of employees responsible for collection and/or transportation of cash bonds, ensuring bond receipt logs are accurate and complete and maintaining sufficient supporting documentation for the chain of custody.

Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren said any charges resulting from the DCI investigation would likely be filed by the Iowa Attorney General's Office.