Authorities in Mesa have accused the municipal treasurer of embezzling $10,000 and spending it on things like new tires for her car.
After beginning her tenure with the city in 2022, Halverson left in October 2023. According to the sheriff’s investigators, she made unauthorized transactions and paid bills using the city’s debit card throughout that time.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has issued a notice accusing Lind resident Charmain Halverson, 50, of misusing her position as Lind’s municipal treasurer to fund personal expenses.
She was taken into custody by the Franklin County jail just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday by detectives who had charged her with official misconduct, embezzlement, tampering with public documents, and theft.
According to public records, Halverson has a lengthy criminal record, including many theft convictions. While embezzling Mesa County, she had pending charges in Benton County.
Halverson took over as treasurer after Danni Lee Speelman, 41, who had a history of robbing Mesa’s coffers.
James Gimenez, the treasurer after Speelman, was the one who discovered her thievery.
Speelman was the clerk-treasurer of Mesa from December 2021 until July 12, 2022.
A request was made to the sheriff’s office to investigate some suspicious activity that was detected in the city’s utility billing software around the middle of July 2022.
According to Gimenez, the newly hired clerk-treasurer, Goodwill Industries of Columbia, which is situated in Kennewick, Missouri, approached him after receiving a request for assistance with a client’s past-due bill.
Gimenez found out that the account number actually belonged to a different customer at a different location.
Court documents show that only Speelman had access to the system that generated and printed checks from the city’s bank account, which also allowed her to modify and issue invoices for utilities.
Her scheme was uncovered, and she was arrested.
Twenty years of litigation, job issues, and now theft have all contributed to the hardships endured by the tiny village of 490 people.
There has been discussion about the possibility of dismantling the local government.
