Felony charges filed after special audit
Jul. 23—ALBIA — The Monroe County Attorney has filed felony charges against a woman accused of stealing more than $80,000 from a local agricultural extension office.
A special audit investigation by the Iowa State Auditor's Office was released in mid-June and detailed the allegations against Madison Kahoe, of Albia.
Those allegations have now resulted in two charges: ongoing criminal conduct, a class B felony; and first-degree theft, a class C felony. The charges would carry a maximum prison sentence of 35 years, if convicted.
John Pabst, the Monroe County Attorney, filed the charges in district court on Monday, about a month after the auditor's office made public their report on the matter. Judge Kevin Maughan has ordered that Kahoe appear at the Monroe County Courthouse on Aug. 3 at 9:45 a.m. for an initial appearance.
The special audit investigation said that Kahoe was a part-time office assistant for the Monroe County Agricultural Extension office. Over a three-year period, the report alleges that Kahoe stole $81,536.04.
She was caught by officials with the extension office in mid-2020, and after questioned about it stopped showing up for work and was eventually terminated.
The auditor's office found multiple PayPal transfers from the extension's credit cards to Kahoe's bank account, as well as personal purchases made with extension's credit cards on the online retailer Amazon.
Amazon purchases included big ticket items like a $1,799 storage shed, as well as $600 on an Amazon gift card, and smaller items like Slim Jims, books and cashew nuts. In all, they totaled $8,770.97.
Transfers to her bank account via PayPal totaled $69,151.31.
The alleged fraud slipped by officials because Kahoe received the credit card statements and was responsible for reviewing charges and ensuring supporting documentation was provided.
The purchases and transfers continued until another employee was reviewing credit card charges and noticed payments to Kahoe's PayPal account in June 2020.
Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at kocker@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker.
