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Employee in Yakima County clerk’s office charged with theft of funds

By Donald W. Meyers, Yakima Herald-Republic
Published: January 17, 2019, 9:48am

YAKIMA — A financial supervisor in the Yakima County Clerk’s Office has been charged with multiple counts of theft and misappropriation of money.

The charges against Emmilee C. Lennart-Hassanin, 32, stemmed from a state audit that found $13,029 missing from the clerk’s office’s cash receipts for 2017. The audit report found Lennart-Hassanin directly responsible for deposits that came up $2,760 short.

Investigators from the Washington State Patrol conducted a criminal investigation and recommended the charges, Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic said.

Lennart-Hassanin, a Selah resident, has been charged with five counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts, and three counts of second-degree theft. Charges were filed Jan. 8, and a summons has been issued for her to appear in court Feb. 8 for arraignment.

County Clerk Tracey Slagle said Lennart-Hassanin will remain on paid administrative leave while disciplinary proceedings are carried out.

State auditors were notified in December 2017 by then-Clerk Janelle Riddle that public money had possibly been lost.

Slagle, who took office this month, said she would be meeting with the auditor to go over the findings and what controls need to be implemented.

“This is a high priority of mine,” she said.

Auditors said of four people who were responsible for reconciling the cash receipts, preparing and taking deposits to the county treasurer’s office, Lennart-Hassanin was the only one with access to the money on the days where misappropriation occurred.

The investigators focused on three deposits where she reconciled and deposited the cash, or where notes showed she was involved with it. Yakima County sheriff’s detectives initially investigated the case before handing it over to the State Patrol to avoid conflicts of interest.

The auditors recommended the clerk’s office strengthen its internal controls for how money is handled, as well as having either Lennart-Hassanin or the county’s insurance bonding company cover the cost of the misappropriated money and the $13,432 cost of the investigation.

Yakima County Commissioners filed a claim against Riddle’s $200,000 bond for the missing money, as well as more than $194,000 in state reimbursements they said were the result of Riddle failing to forward child-support orders to the state in time.

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