Oklahoma audit says $1.7 million in receipts never deposited

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A critical state audit that says more than $1.7 million in utility revenue a small southeastern Oklahoma city collected was never deposited has been turned over to the FBI and the state Attorney General's Office to consider criminal charges, the state's top auditor said Friday.

A forensic audit of Hartshorne, a city of about 2,100 residents located 144 miles (232 kilometers) southeast of Oklahoma City, shows utility revenue collected between July 2009 and July 2016 never made it into municipal bank accounts, state Auditor & Inspector Stephen Jones said. Jones said auditors believe utility deposits received before 2009 were also not deposited and there could be "substantially more" missing revenue.

In addition, the audit indicates city funds were misappropriated by former city officials and says that a former city treasurer "did not appear to effectively execute her duties" to collect, record, and deposit utility billing revenue. Between July 2014 and July 2016, records reflect that $617,590 in utility payments were posted to customer accounts but were not deposited.

The former city treasurer, Shirley Day, did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

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