For Immediate Release:                                                      

July 29, 2021                                                             

Theft in Office leads to Finding for Recovery in Columbiana County Audit

Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber’s Office released the 2020 Columbiana County financial audit which included a finding for recovery totaling $2,940 and resulted in a plea of guilty to one count of theft in office, based on a special audit and investigation conducted by the Auditor’s Special Investigations Unit.

The Columbiana County Tax Map Office collects various types of receipts such as; tax map fees, survey fees, and deed/plat approval fees. Melissa Brennen was an employee of the Office where she held the position of Engineering Tech 3. For the period of May 28, 2019 through November 8, 2019, Ms. Brennen’s duties included recording pay-ins, maintaining a cash journal, and depositing Tax Map Office receipts to the County Treasurer’s Office.

Auditors reviewed 829 receipts totaling $11,276 during this time period and determined only $8,336 had been deposited into the Columbiana County Treasurer’s Office, resulting in $2,940 in tax map office receipts misappropriated.

On January 9, 2020, Ms. Brennen was indicted by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for one count of theft in office, a felony of the fourth degree, and one count of tampering with records, a felony of the fifth degree. On September 23, 2020, Ms. Brennen entered a plea of guilty to one count of theft in office, a felony of the fourth degree. On January 4, 2021, Ms. Brennen was sentenced by the Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to six months in a state correctional facility and was ordered to pay restitution to the Columbiana County Engineer’s Office in the amount of $2,940.25.

A finding for recovery was issued by the Auditor of State’s Office against Melissa Brennen for $2,940, in favor of the Columbiana County Engineer Map Sales fund.

A full copy of this report is available online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.