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Farmington, Mo., building inspector charged with stealing from city
July 23, 2015 7:39 am • The Park Hills Daily Journal
A building inspector in Farnington, Mo., has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the city.
The money came from permit application funds that were payed but never deposited into city accounts, according to authorities.
Jaime Nicole Ellis, 35, of Farmington, was charged Tuesday with a felony count of stealing. Associate Circuit Judge Joe Goff Jr. set her bond at $15,000. She was taken into custody Wednesday morning and immediately posted bond.
The city's financial director discovered about $5,700 missing during an audit and reported the matter to Farmington police. The money was missing from a permit fund account that showed hundreds of permit applications with outstanding balances.
"Further examination revealed to (the financial director) and her staff that handwritten receipts had been drawn for the missing money, indicating the money had been received from the customer but had not been noted as such in the accounting software used and had not been deposited in the city's bank account," the report states.
Ellis had been promoted to building inspector in February of this year. Prior to that she had worked as the permit clerk who was primarily responsible for making entries into accounting software system and preparing the money received for the permits for deposit.
On June 11, Ellis admitted that over the previous three-year period she had taken permit cash. She said she didn't take all of the money. She admitted she probably took more than $500.
July 23, 2015 7:39 am • The Park Hills Daily Journal
A building inspector in Farnington, Mo., has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the city.
The money came from permit application funds that were payed but never deposited into city accounts, according to authorities.
Jaime Nicole Ellis, 35, of Farmington, was charged Tuesday with a felony count of stealing. Associate Circuit Judge Joe Goff Jr. set her bond at $15,000. She was taken into custody Wednesday morning and immediately posted bond.
The city's financial director discovered about $5,700 missing during an audit and reported the matter to Farmington police. The money was missing from a permit fund account that showed hundreds of permit applications with outstanding balances.
"Further examination revealed to (the financial director) and her staff that handwritten receipts had been drawn for the missing money, indicating the money had been received from the customer but had not been noted as such in the accounting software used and had not been deposited in the city's bank account," the report states.
Ellis had been promoted to building inspector in February of this year. Prior to that she had worked as the permit clerk who was primarily responsible for making entries into accounting software system and preparing the money received for the permits for deposit.
On June 11, Ellis admitted that over the previous three-year period she had taken permit cash. She said she didn't take all of the money. She admitted she probably took more than $500.