Friday, October 2, 2015

State Audit Finds Fraud By Saline County Court Clerk Jodi Rezabek


Many Nebraskans believe that one of the easiest ways to cut the cost of our property taxes would be to consolidate county government administration.  Those people now have another reason why such a consolidation might be wise.

The Lincoln Journal Star is reporting that Nebraska State Auditor Charlie Janssen released an audit this week of the Saline County Court that showed problems that allowed for alleged fraud. 

In August, Assistant County Clerk Jodi Rezabek, 42, was arrested and charged with theft by unlawful taking, a Class III felony. A pretrial hearing is set for Dec. 8 in Gage County District Court. 

Two employees from the auditor's office and an investigator from the Nebraska Attorney General's office questioned Rezabek on Aug. 13 about a suspected fraudulent check written in the amount of $15,500.

The audit showed a copy of a check written to Rezabek on May 19 from the Saline County Court in that amount.  The auditors believe Rezabek wrote the check to pay off a contractor who had performed work at her residence. 

The irregularities in the court's account were discovered by auditors in June, and they proceeded to investigate the discrepancies in the bank balances.

The auditor believes Rezabek used the signature stamp of the clerk magistrate to sign the check. A check of Rezabek's personal bank statement showed a deposit for the amount of the check on May 20, and a cashier's check written to the contractor for $14,806. 

In addition to the check, auditors found Rezabek had drawn a $62,529 cashier's check from the account on May 22. But that check was deposited back into the account on June 29. The court could not explain why the transaction occurred. 

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