A northeast Iowa woman has been accused of stealing over $130,000 from the city she worked for.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says that on March 7th they completed an investigation, turned over by the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, from a report conducted by the Office of Auditor of Iowa upon the request of the City of Elgin in the termination of then-City Clerk Rhonda Dales.Â
At the request of the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, it was further investigated and upon completion of the investigation and the State Audit report, the 62-year-old Clermont woman was charged with first-degree theft, a Class “C†felony.Â
According to the criminal complaint, while Dales was employed as Elgin City Clerk, she’s accused of improperly making monetary disbursements through payroll, unsupported claims, and unauthorized reimbursements in the amount of $131,212.73. Dales was fired by the City of Elgin on May 17, 2021, and at that time, the City Council voted to have the state auditor’s office do an official audit of the books and money Dales controlled until she was terminated.Â
Court records show that State Auditor Rob Sand conducted the audit and finished it on March 2, 2023. The audit investigation report also alleged that Dales had committed the improper monetary transactions.
