Northeast Nebraska village clerk embezzled thousands, state auditor says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) — The Nebraska State Auditor is alleging that the clerk of a Nebraska village has embezzled thousands of dollars by “improperly manipulating the village accounting system.”

The Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) released a letter that was sent to the Village of Carroll , a small town with a population of 191, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . In the letter, the office stated that it “received concerns regarding alleged financial improprieties” by the Jamie Muhs, Carroll’s former clerk/treasurer. Muhs served as the village’s clerk and treasurer from 2012 through 2023, when she submitted a letter of resignation in February to take effect May 12.

The APA was told that Muhs used her position’s authority to avoid making payments on her utilities as well as not depositing cash payments from other utility customers. There were also questionable reimbursement payments for “office supplies.”

Officials reviewed Muhs’ bank statements, bank statements from the village, and more documentation from October 1, 2020, through January 31, 2024. They found a total of $11,625.96 in possible fraud; nearly $9,000 from questionable reimbursements and the rest from the alleged improper utility billing charge write-offs.

There were 15 write-offs as part of the improper utility billing write-offs from October 1, 2020, to May 31, 2023. Muh’s utility account continued to be billed after her resignation for the months of June 2023 through January 2024 with an outstanding balance of $1,524.48

Utility customers also made cash deposits for their accounts, but Muhs allegedly did not deposit some of those payments into the village’s account, leaving a difference of $32,215.24. The village’s bank noted that Muhs hadn’t made any deposits of cash payments before her resignation.

“The actual losses of the cash cannot be readily determined due to the village’s slipshod accounting practices,” Nebraska Auditor Mike Foley said in a release .

From October 14, 2020, and through May 10, 2023, Muhs received 32 questionable reimbursement payments, the APA states in its letter. When asked about the payments, the village was “unable to provide adequate documentation, however, to support any of those 32 reimbursement checks paid to Ms. Muhs,” the letter said.

Foley said in the release that it would have been highly irregular for any village clerk to make purchases of this type

“The Village Board apparently was asleep at the switch when they rubberstamped approval of the monthly payments for 32 consecutive months with zero evidence of the purchases ever having been made,” Foley added.

The APA said it tried to contact Muhs multiple times over the suspected misappropriation and to clarify or refute the allegations but didn’t receive a response as of April 3.

The auditor’s office stated in the release that it has now handed the matter to the Wayne County Attorney, Nebraska Attorney General, and Nebraska State Patrol for possible criminal prosecution.

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