Sunnyside Seeks Charges Against Former Employee for Fraud

$36,000 may not seem like at lot to a city government, take Seattle for instance. But to Sunnyside, it's significant. And with help from the state auditor's office, a former clerk is going to likely be facing charges.

According to the dailysunnynews.com (Sunnyside Daily Herald), former clerk Gina Chavez is being investigated for over $17,000 in misappropriate funds, and another $18,000-plus in questionable transactions.

The city plans to pursue possible charges against Chavez, after notifying the state auditor's office about the missing money.

Mayor Don day said Monday Chavez had been with the city for about four years before resigning in 2015. After a routine audit, officials found earlier this year that a deposit of $2,048 was missing and never located. It never made it to the bank. This led to other questionable actions, including the cancellation or voiding of 11 building permits that were paid for in cash. They totaled over $2,000, and the reason for the justification was never given. 14 business and occupancy payments were found to have been voided or decreased and had not receipts with them.

Day says the city will seek repayment of the $17,000-plus from Chavez, and possibly the other amount as well. The investigation continues.