Audit: Water District Employee Embezzled

A state audit found a water district employee in Lake Forest Park, Wash., pilfered more than $350,000 of ratepayer money, according to local reports.

The audit found that the office employee pulled off the embezzlement by putting her children on the payroll and forging receipts, the Seattle Times reported.

The paper said the audit found the water district’s three-member board had approved her budgets for years even as the employee — one of two full-time workers — billed for new flooring and used district money for motorcycle parts, a dog kennel and college tuition.

No criminal charges have been filed following the two-year investigation, but the employee has been fired, according to the Times.

The report said the administrator had been on unpaid leave since January 2011 and the entire board has been replaced.

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Washington
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