An established clerk-treasurer in Steuben County has been arrested for stealing greater than $1.1 million in village budget over the process no less than 19 years, in step with New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker and the New York State Police.
Ursula Stone, 55, who labored for the village of Addison from 1997 to final March, was once charged with grand larceny, cash laundering, corrupting the federal government, public corruption, tried grand larceny tried public corruption and 185 counts of falsifying trade data, all felonies.
“For well over a decade, Ursula Stone took advantage of her position and the trust of Addison residents to systematically steal over a million dollars from her community,” DiNapoli stated. “Thanks to the work of my office and our partnership with District Attorney Baker and the State Police, her crimes were uncovered, and she now faces the consequences of her actions. I thank our law enforcement partners for their commitment to fighting public corruption.”
According to DiNapoli, an audit of the village in 2022 discovered that Stone were operating the monetary operations of the village without a oversight or responsibility. She ready payroll, maintained guide depart data, and processed medical insurance buyouts and unused depart bills without a assessment or approval from the mayor or another village legitimate, he additionally stated.
The comptroller’s administrative center discovered that exams from the Addison Central School District, payable to the village, weren’t deposited into the village’s accounts. A joint investigation discovered that Stone allegedly stole no longer simplest the varsity district’s exams, but in addition dozens of different exams payable to the village, which she transformed to qualified financial institution exams and cashed.
Additionally, investigators discovered Stone allegedly gave herself unauthorized pay raises, took break day with out deducting it from her depart credit, and wrote herself exams for unauthorized medical insurance buyouts from village budget.
Stone resigned in March all through the process the investigation. Before filing her resignation letter, she wrote herself a last take a look at for $26,613, which was once no longer licensed by means of the village board, DiNapoli stated, despite the fact that the bboard stopped fee at the take a look at ahead of she was once in a position to money it.
In general, investigators say she stole $1,171,362.
“This case represents the most complete, and to be frank shocking, breach of public trust I have encountered in 30 years as a Steuben County prosecutor,” Baker stated. “The reality is that but for some real heads-up detection work by members of the State Comptroller’s staff it would still be on-going. Comptroller DiNapoli’s auditors picked up on some red flags village auditors missed, triggered an investigation and put in hundreds of hours to put this case together, with critical investigative assistance from the New York State Police Special Investigation Unit.”
Stone was once arraigned in Steuben County Court and $20,000 in bail was once set. She is due again in court docket on Jan. 24.