Columbus – The former fiscal officer for Fort Loramie in Shelby County has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of property, following an investigation into nearly $14,000 in missing Village receipts, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced Thursday.

Carolyn J. Gasson was indicted in Shelby County Common Pleas Court in August 2022 and submitted her guilty plea Monday afternoon. She also has paid full restitution in the case, including audit costs.

Gasson was fired from her position as fiscal officer in July 2019 after Village officials determined she had manipulated utility account records. The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the law enforcement division of the office, began its review in October 2019, checking records from a 66-month period and finding dozens of instances where utility payments or customer security deposits were collected but not deposited into the Village’s bank account.

SIU determined a total of $13,908 was misappropriated while Gasson served as fiscal officer and was the only person collecting the funds.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 109 convictions resulting in more than $5.8 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictions since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (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. 

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov