An unknown cyber thief managed to scam county officials into wiring them $45,000 in taxpayer funds. The county has been unable to recoup the stolen money, its insurance policy has a deductible larger than the amount taken, and any criminal investigation into the incident appears to be going nowhere.
Although the incident occurred in August of last year, it has never been an agenda item for a county meeting, never been publicly discussed by county officials, and has not been reported by the media until now. The theft of public funds is being revealed here for the first time as a direct result of BeaverCountian.com bolstering its investigative journalism efforts.
County officials first became aware of the theft on Aug. 11, when Huntington Bank notified Treasurer Sandie Egley the county had transferred funds to an account at Woodforest National Bank that had since been identified by banking staff as fraudulent. Egley contacted county Controller Maria Longo, who then notified other officials.
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