Posted on 02/18/2026 5:23:54 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
WALLKILL - A former state auditor accused of stealing more than $400,000 from the town of Wallkill while reviewing its finances pleaded guilty to a felony public corruption charge.
Tobias Otieno, 41, of Hyde Park, admitted Tuesday in Wallkill Town Court that he stole $405,843.25 from Wallkill between June 23, 2022, and Sept. 1, 2024, while assigned to audit the town on behalf of the state comptroller's office.
Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of four to 12 years when Otieno is sentenced on June 1, according to a release from Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
In court, Otieno acknowledged that he used his access to Wallkill's bank accounts and financial records to transfer town funds to his personal business accounts. He pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny as a public corruption crime, a class B felony.
"The use of a governmental position to steal public monies is a most serious offense that warrants severe punishment," Hoovler said in a statement announcing the plea.
Otieno had previously pleaded not guilty after being charged last year. He was accused of siphoning town money while analyzing payroll, procurements and non-payroll disbursements during an audit that began in June 2022.
Investigators from the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the Orange County Sheriff's Office, working under the county's White Collar Crimes Task Force, traced the transfers through bank and business records, according to the news release. Forensic auditors from the comptroller's office assisted in reviewing financial documents and tracing the source and disposition of the stolen funds.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Quis audiet auditores?
Quis audiet auditores?
DEI goon
4-12 years? What’s the downside for this type of criminality?
Deep State delenda est.
โArenโt auditors people who take what they see?โ
He was an auditor?! I bet he can’t tie his own shoelaces much less use a cowcolatah.
Town auditor Tobias Otieno was accused of siphoning town money into his own bank accounts while analyzing payroll, procurements and non-payroll disbursements during an audit that began in June 2022.
Another example of how the real place to make money as a criminal is in government. Robbing a bank, dealing drugs or mugging someone on the street is for amateurs. You can make a fortune stealing from the government - whether its Medicare or food stamp fraud or, like this guy, stealing as a government employee - and if you get caught, you won’t spend nearly as much time in jail as a drug dealer.
Democrats going to Democrat
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.