Ex-Jay County township trustee sentenced for wire fraud

PORTLAND, Ind. — A former township trustee in Jay County who used public funds for personal expenses was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in federal prison.

Katina Miller — trustee in northern Jay County's Bearcreek Township from 2015 through 2018 — in January 2021 was indicted on two counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne.

The indictment alleged the 50-year-old Miller — formerly of Bryant and now of Montpelier — had used the township's two debit cards. and issued unauthorized checks to herself, for a total of $86,755.39 used "to pay her own personal, unauthorized charges."

The two wire fraud charges said she had used a Bearcreek Township debit card, in December 2015 and January 2016, to make two payments — for $824 and $775 — to a Fort Wayne dental office.

Earlier:Ex-Jay County township trustee pleads guilty to wire fraud

A State Board of Accounts audit — released after Miller left office — accused her of using $131,503 in township funds for personal expenses. including costs stemming from vacations, to locations including New Orleans and the Great Smoky Mountains, and to purchase items including "jewelry, makeup, hair products, clothing, electronics and holiday decor/supplies."

After negotiating a plea agreement, Miller in February 2021 pleaded guilty to one of the wire fraud charges.

The Montpelier resident also agreed to pay $86,755.39 "to Bearcreek Township as well as any insurance company who had paid any claim based on my fraud."

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Holly Barry imposed the 21-month sentence, to be followed by two years on supervised release,

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ex-Jay County township trustee sentenced for wire fraud