Columbus – An Auditor of State partnership with Paulding County law enforcement led to the indictment of former Director of Probation Services Emily Munger. She was indicted on one charge of theft in office and one charge of tampering with records.
“A probation officer is in a position of authority and should set the bar high for those attempting to turn their lives around,” Auditor Yost said. “Instead, this official abused the public’s trust.”
In June 2015, Judge Suzanne S. Rister discovered that funds were missing from the Paulding County Probation Office and contacted Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers and Prosecutor Joseph Burkard. The Auditor of State’s Public Integrity Assurance Team was called in to conduct audit and investigative work.
“I thank the efforts of Sheriff Jason Landers as well as Prosecutor Joseph Burkard. Their experience and knowledge about the available resources of the Auditor of State and its Public Integrity Assurance Team was extremely helpful,” Judge Suzanne S. Rister said. “The Sheriff and the Prosecutor and their staff have been so valuable to us at the Paulding County Court. The State Auditor’s staff has also assisted us during this investigation and we cannot thank them all enough for their hard work. Through tremendous teamwork this investigation was brought to the grand jury for further consideration. Paulding County Court, Paulding County Probation, and all its staff are grateful for their efforts to assist us.”
“I appreciate the cooperation and swift response from the Auditor of State regarding this investigation,” Sheriff Jason Landers said. “Mrs. Munger was a long-time county employee; and, I wanted to ensure this was a fair, unbiased investigation.”
The investigation found that former Director of Probation Services Emily Munger instructed probationers to pay her in cash for their required 3rd Millennium course fees. Munger gave the probationers “receipts” that she created to acknowledge they paid their fees; however, Munger did not give the money to Paulding County for the courses. It is alleged Munger stole $9,240 in course fees. In addition, it was discovered that Munger collected $800 in fees for the SCRAM andEHMA electronic monitoring programs, but the money was never deposited with the county.
Investigators also found that Munger tampered with a grant application and falsely inflated her hourly wage by $2 per hour.
Paulding County Prosecutor Joseph Burkard appointed Auditor of State Deputy Chief Legal Counsel Robert Smith to serve as special prosecutor in the case. Munger was indicted on one third-degree felony charge of theft in office and one third-degree felony charge of tampering with records.
In July 2015, Judge Rister terminated Munger for violations of the Paulding County Court Probation Office’s personnel policies and procedures.
A full copy of this indictment may be accessed through the Paulding County Clerk of Courts.
