Former Delhi city clerk will plead guilty to embezzling money

CEDAR RAPIDS - A former Delhi city clerk, charged with theft in state court, now faces a federal charge and will plead guilty on Friday to embezzling at least $75,000 from the city's coffers.

Angela J. Billings, 42, of Anamosa, was charged last Friday with theft concerning a program receiving federal funds in U.S. District Court. Billings, while working as city clerk for Delhi, 'willfully embezzled, stole, intentionally misapplied and converted” for her personal use at least $75,000 in city funds from March 2007 through January 2015, the charging information shows. She waived her right to a grand jury and will be arraigned and plead guilty to the charge Friday, according to court documents.

The information also shows Billings embezzled, stole or intentionally misapplied at least $5,000 of the total $10,000, which came from federal grant money issued to the city between March 2007 and January 2015 for personal use.

In December 2016, Auditor of the State Mary Mosiman conducted a special audit of the city, which found Billings spent the embezzled city funds for satellite television, weight loss supplements, calls to a psychic hotline and more than $69,000 in improper paychecks and expenses.

Records show Billings used a city credit card to charge $88,160 of personal expenditures, received $63,226 in unauthorized pay and lowered her and her ex-husband's utility bills by $6,748.

The audit found she paid for a fraction of the personal expenses - $2,419.97 - with personal checks written to the city's card company.

After Billings resigned in 2015, a new city clerk was organizing records when she noticed payments to a credit card she didn't know at the time belonged to the city. She also noticed utility billing discrepancies.

Delhi Mayor Terry Harbach said last year after the audit was released that he had no 'suspicions” at the time that Billings was diverting funds and giving herself extra paychecks.

According to the report, Billings, who was the clerk from 2007 to 2015, made improper purchases on the city's credit card of nearly $90,000 that included:

l $16,264 at convenience stores.

l $13,780 at Walmart.

l $7,998 at various retail stores.

There were also charges for $1,798 in late fees, finance charges, electronic payment fees and over-limit fees.

Mosiman said in her report that some of the charges on the credit card were for legitimate city business, but the majority were not.

From March 2007 through June 14, 2008, the city clerk position was part time and Billings was expected to work only 24 hours per week, the audit report shows. Her position was then made full time by the city, changing it to a 40-hour workweek. Still, based on a review of the time sheets, 173 of the 189 payroll checks issued to her showed hours exceeding those authorized.

The audit found $6,700 of unpaid and not billed utilities linked to her - including $4,719 in unpaid utility bills for her home and for her ex-husband's business from March 1, 2007 through Dec. 30, 2014.

Mosiman also found in the audit that the city for six years had been overcharging its sewer customers by more than $250,000 for setting a rate that was discussed - but never approved - by the City Council.

The audit showed more than $500,000 worth of improper spending and billing in the city of 460 people.

The $256,660 in overbilling for sewer customers occurred because the city started charging a new base rate of $26 per month beginning in April 2010, which was discussed by the council but never approved in an ordinance, Mosiman said in her report.

Billings' charge in federal court doesn't address all the misappropriations included in last year's audit report. Federal documents also don't include what prison time, if any, and restitution Billings will face for the conviction.

l Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com