Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov

Columbus – The former utility clerk for the Village of Swanton is facing felony charges in the theft of nearly $65,000, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced Tuesday.

Kari Rowe, of Wauseon, made her initial appearance in Fulton County Common Pleas Court on one count of theft in office and one count of tampering with records, under a Grand Jury indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) opened an investigation into Rowe after serious anomalies were discovered during an audit of Swanton’s finances for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, including utility payments that were not deposited into the Village’s bank account. SIU determined Rowe, who worked for the Village from May 2002 until her resignation in January 2018, had misappropriated $64,342.15.

Rowe made her initial appearance in Fulton County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. The next pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 22.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 93 convictions resulting in more than $4.9 million in restitution (Map of SIU Convictions Since January 2019: https://ohioauditor.gov/fraud/convictions_map.html). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364).

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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.