COLUMBUS — Former Mount Vernon Municipal Court Clerk Stephanie Hardman, who pleaded guilty in October to stealing $7,476.50 from the court in 2018, will be ordered to repay an additional $3,144.50 following the completion of a state audit.
State Auditor Keith Faber announced Tuesday that his office’s 2020 investigation into the city’s 2018 financial records is complete, and it concluded Hardman stole $10,621 during that time. Hardman, who is currently serving a 150-day sentence in the Knox County Jail (and will serve two years of community control upon her release), will be ordered to pay the remaining balance.
“Last year our Special Investigations Unit identified over $2 million in findings related to the abuse of tax dollars,” Faber stated. “We expect our public servants to be trustworthy and responsible, not thieves, and we will make sure every dollar is accounted for.”
As a part of the state’s latest audit, officials compared CMI software batch reports to the Municipal Court clerk’s bail bond account, criminal account bank statements and deposits to ensure the payments were properly deposited, the press release said. This audit identified a total cash shortage of $10,621.
“In some instances, a transfer of funds was made between the bail bond account and criminal account in an attempt to cover the shortage of funds,” Faber stated.
Hardman pleaded guilty Oct. 7 to two fourth-degree felony counts – theft-in-office and tampering with evidence – which stemmed from a 2019 investigation by the state auditor’s office that alleged she had stolen over $7,000 from the court the year prior and had attempted to tamper with records related to the theft.
She was sentenced by Knox County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Wetzel on Nov. 4.
“You held a position of trust in this community. …” Wetzel told Hardman before announcing the sentence to a packed courtroom. “And you used that position of trust to commit a crime.”
Hardman’s sentencing in November marked the end of a 14-month legal process that began in August 2020, when a Knox County grand jury indicted Hardman on eight felony counts related to the investigation: theft-in-office, telecommunications fraud, three counts of tampering with records and three counts of money laundering. All were listed as third-degree felonies.
Hardman pleaded not guilty shortly thereafter, and she was issued a personal recognizance bond by Wetzel. Five scheduled jury trials were postponed over the next year, until Aug. 31, 2021, when both parties filed a joint motion to change the upcoming jury trial date to a plea date.
Thomas Anger, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the Special Investigations Unit within the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office, said in October that both parties were able to reach a plea agreement in an effort to “preserve judicial resources.” Hardman agreed to plead guilty to lesser versions of two felony counts (lowered from F3s to F4s), and in return, Anger agreed to drop the other six.
“The reason that this case reached a plea agreement was the same reason that all of them do – to preserve judicial resources and give everyone an opportunity to air their grievances or give the victims a time to talk, the defendant a time to talk – but conserve judicial resources (and) get to the same place we probably would have been at after a trial,” Anger said.
Hardman became the city’s clerk of courts on Nov. 25, 2015. Mount Vernon Municipal Court Judge John Thatcher told the Mount Vernon News in November 2019 that he became aware of allegations of theft within the court on Dec. 17, 2018, when they were brought to his attention by City Law Director Rob Broeren and then-Police Chief Roger Monroe.
Broeren and Monroe reported a court employee had made allegations that another employee was stealing from the clerk’s office.
Thatcher said he called the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation that day to report the allegations and request an independent investigation. The BCI turned its investigation over to the state auditor’s office in February 2019, and it remained active for several months, as records were seized and evidence was collected.
A city audit, completed by the accounting firm Wilson, Shannon & Snow, discovered $7,749.05 was unaccounted for during 2018.
Thatcher terminated Hardman’s employment on Feb. 7, 2020. He declined to explain why at the time, although Hardman’s attorney, Columbus-based Bradley Koffel, told the Mount Vernon News that Thatcher “told (Hardman) that it has been 14 months and she cannot tell him where the missing money is … and he lost confidence in the fiscal management of the clerk’s office.”
As the Mount Vernon Municipal Court clerk, Hardman was responsible for the overall retention of court documents, collecting and disbursing monies received by the clerk’s office, completing deposit slips, and preparing court dockets and associated entries.
Hardman had sole access and authority in completing the month-end reconciliations and transferring funds online via the Municipal Court clerk’s online bank accounts.
Thatcher brought on Mary Jo Hawkins as the interim clerk of courts following Hardman’s dismissal. Hawkins had spent 20 years as the county’s clerk of courts, having retired Aug. 31, 2019.
Lisa Mazza was later selected to be Hardman’s permanent replacement, and currently serves as the clerk of Mount Vernon Municipal Court.
