Former county building services director pleads guilty in theft scheme; sentencing March 27
NEWARK − Former Licking County Building Services Director Donald Dunston pleaded guilty to five felonies Wednesday in Licking County Common Pleas Court and will be sentenced March 27.
Dunston, 58, of Blacklick, admitted to his part in what the prosecutor called a "phony invoice scheme" and the theft of nearly $193,000 from Licking County government from 2015 to 2018, when he was fired by the Licking County Commissioners.
He pleaded guilty to attempted engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft in office and three counts of tampering with records. All are third-degree felonies.
Prosecutor Robert Smith, of the state auditor's office, said there were more than 100 tampering charges that could have been brought.
Judge David Branstool told Dunston each of the five counts carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 36 months and a maximum fine of up to $10,000. Smith said Dunston could receive anywhere from no time to 15 years.
William Crawford, of Frisco, Texas, who was also involved in the invoice scheme, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison, State Auditor Keith Faber announced. Crawford pleaded guilty in January to felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft, and tampering with records. Crawford and Dunston were one-time neighbors in Texas.
Smith said, "We delayed this (Dunston plea agreement) because Mr. Dunston cooperated as soon as he was arrested. We wanted to delay his case until Mr. Crawford's case was resolved. (Dunston) was cooperative and gave a complete statement of everything he did."
Smith told the judge that Dunston has paid full restitution, which includes the $192,672.97 stolen and audit costs of $20,397.50.
Crawford appeared for his sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of Judge Tom Marcelain. Dunston then appeared for his change of plea hearing at 9:30 a.m. in front of Branstool.
Windy Miller, of Frisco, Texas, a third person involved in the beginnings of the scheme, was indicted and pleaded guilty in 2021 to a single felony count of theft. She was sentenced to 10 days in jail, five years of community control and fined $2,500.
Dunston moved to central Ohio in 2012 and started his job with the county on Dec. 19, 2012, as supervisor of building services. He was promoted to facilities director on Jan. 24, 2017. He earned a salary of $68,989 in 2017. Part of his job was ordering cleaning supplies.
Smith told the judge that Dunston arranged with Crawford to have phony invoices prepared, beginning in September 2015. The first seven phony invoices were prepared by Miller, who operated a company in Frisco, Texas. She prepared invoices for equipment the county regularly used in cleaning, Smith said.
Dunston would approve the invoices and send them through the normal chain of operation, signed off on by the county commissioners, Smith said. Then, the invoices would be paid, with the money sent to Miller, who deposited it and split it with Crawford, who mailed some of it to Dunston, Smith said.
After Miller broke her ankle and stopped being part of the scheme, Crawford set up a phony company called Crawford R.A.W. Janitorial. Beginning in October 2015, Crawford prepared the phony invoices similar to what Miller had done, and emailed them to Dunston.
The scheme fell apart in In April 2018, after Dunston was caught filling up a vehicle not owned by the county with gas on the county credit card. He was then fired by commissioners. In process of examining Dunston’s records, the commissioners saw the two sets of invoices to Miller and Crawford.
Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said in a January interview that county officials discovered Dunston was getting more fuel than his car would hold. Then, video evidence showed Dunston putting gas in the vehicles of friends or family after filling up his car's tank.
“Then, we discovered he’d been stealing more than gas,” Bubb said. “We went to his office and started investigating his spending. He had been buying more than he needed, or materials we didn’t need. And things were not adding up.
“We started calling vendors in Texas to verify what was ordered and shipped and found they were fictitious companies. We couldn’t find all the suppliers.”
The commissioners informed the Licking County Sheriff’s Office. Miller admitted her role to the sheriff's office and a full investigation began, with the state auditor getting involved in June 2018.
The state auditor's Special Investigations Unit identified six checks totaling $19,203 that were paid to a Texas business, Whirl of Windy, for supplies and services that were not provided to the county.
The SIU determined that 109 checks totaling $173,469 were paid to Crawford’s business, Crawford R.A.W. Janitorial, through fake invoices approved by Dunston, knowing that no supplies or equipment were provided to the county, according to the state auditor.
740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ex-county building services director pleads guilty in theft scheme
