Former Pickaway County clerk who stole $14,000 owes more money, Ohio auditor says

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A former Pickaway County receipt clerk who stole nearly $14,000 from her office was hit Thursday with an additional $1,500 fine from Ohio Auditor Keith Faber.

Kelly Neal, the former receipt clerk for the Village of South Bloomfield, was issued a $1,573 finding of recovery by Faber after a state audit revealed her original restitution payment of $13,970 did not account for the entirety of taxpayer dollars she stole, Faber's office said in a news release.

As a receipt clerk, Neal was responsible for collecting income tax payments, mayor's court fines and planning and zoning permits -- with separate receipt books, money bags and account systems for each, Faber's office said.

An investigation by the auditor's office found that from 2010 to 2015, she failed to deposit some of the payments or illegally converted or misappropriated the village's funds.

In June 2020, a judge sentenced Neal to 16 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to a felony count of grand theft.

She paid $13,970 in restitution as part of her sentence, but during the auditor's review of the Village's finances from 2018 to 2019, it was discovered the Neal owes an additional $1,573, according to the auditor's office.