DePasquale said he directed his team to move up the timeline for the audit after a state police and FBI investigation led to fraud charges being filed in July against the former clerk of courts.
“Taxpayers deserve to know that their hard-earned money is being handled properly. My team will be looking at how any money owed to the state was handled by this office,” DePasquale said. “My auditors are working closely and will share our results with law enforcement, in case any of our findings may relate to the ongoing criminal case.”
According to a criminal complaint, the former clerk allegedly took money from different court accounts to pay personal credit cards, car payments and cell phone bills.
The last audit of state funds handled by the Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts office was released in February 2015. That audit found issues with the handling of public funds and a lack of internal controls that created an environment conducive to fraud and misappropriation.
At that time, auditors were unable to complete a standard examination after finding records in disarray. The findings in 2015 included: inadequate segregation of duties, inadequate internal controls over bank accounts, inadequate controls over manual receipts and inadequate internal controls over receipts.
“In my previous audit, I called for comprehensive changes to protect public funds. My new audit will determine the extent to which the office followed my recommendations from 2015,” he said.
The clerk of court’s office handled more than $2.8 million in receipts for various fines, court costs and fees, according to the 2015 audit which covered 2009 to 2012. The new audit will cover 2013 to 2017.
“My upcoming audit will recommend ways to better protect public funds and hold people accountable,” DePasquale said.