CHEROKEE, Iowa — A former state employee at the Iowa Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders in Cherokee will serve two years of probation and pay $57,252.04 in restitution after being found guilty of orchestrating a theft scheme that looted $61,610.66 from the state, according to a news release from the Iowa State Auditor's office.
Renae Rapp was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty in September to second-degree theft, a class D felony.
According to the release, a special investigation released by the state auditor's office last year showed that from August 2019 to February 2021, Rapp used her husband's key fob to clock him into the payroll system and also manually entered additional hours into the payroll program in her role as supervisor.
Rapp's husband, who worked as a part-time employee at the facility, had no knowledge of his wife's scheme.
Rapp's actions resulted in an overpayment of $61,610.66 to the joint account that Rapp and her husband shared. That includes $52,618.19 of gross wages paid and $8,992,47 of related payroll costs.
“This highlights the important work of the Auditor’s Office,” said Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand. “If you steal taxpayers’ money, we’ll catch you and you’ll be held accountable.”
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