A state audit found thousands of dollars taken from the nonprofit group created to support EMS volunteers in the tiny Appanoose County town of Moulton.
State Auditor, Mary Mosiman, says her office was asked to do a review of the organization’s books. “Moulton EMS officials became concerned in April of 2015 when balances that were reported by the former treasurer — Miss Kim Horn — at a board meeting did not make sense to them,” Mosiman says. “They requested additional information, but it was not provided.”
Mosiman says their concerns grew when they got a bank statement. “That document showed a 200 dollar cash withdrawal from the EMS savings account. That cash withdrawal was not authorized — nor was it needed for EMS operations,” according to Mosiman. “So then, EMS officials obtained statements directly from the bank and noticed a number of EMS cash withdrawals.”
The audit detailed more than $20,000 in funds taken from the account, or never deposited. “A little over $13,000 of cash withdrawals, a little over $5,700 of checks that Miss Horn issued to herself, and $905 of checks that Miss Horn issued to cash. Undeposited collections included proceeds for CPR classes and a couple of fundraisers,” Mosiman says.
She says the group had some oversight of the funds, but not enough. “They were receiving reports from the treasurer, but not having backup documentation or the actual bank statements to verify the financial reports that Miss Horn was giving. So, if they had had the banks statements, they could have seen the cash withdrawals,” Mosiman explains.
Mosiman says they reviewed information from November of 2007 when Horn became treasurer, through October of 2015. Copies of the report have been filed with the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Appanoose County Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.