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Ex-Webster County employee sentenced for fraud

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The former administrative assistant to the Webster County clerk was sentenced this month for defrauding the municipal government.

Billy Breitenstein was ordered to serve five years of probation and pay $17,676 in restitution, according to a news release issued yesterday from state Auditor Nicole Galloway’s office. Gena Terlizzi, a spokeswoman for the auditor’s office, said Breitenstein was sentenced Oct. 14 after pleading guilty.

Breitenstein worked for the county until July 2013, when he was terminated for unrelated reasons. Following his termination, the county clerk’s office discovered Breitenstein’s fraudulent activity. An examination by the auditor’s office found he fraudulently made $17,676 in purchases with county credit cards, charge accounts and checks over several years.

"These actions represent a serious abuse of public resources and reveal a lack of oversight that contributed to this fraud in Webster County,” Galloway said in the release. “When those in positions of public trust abuse their power, they must be held accountable. County officials have since worked with audit staff and law enforcement authorities to bring justice and recover the stolen taxpayer dollars.

“It's now up to leaders in Webster County to ensure protections are put into place to protect taxpayers and to prevent this kind of abuse of power from happening again."

Breitenstein pleaded guilty to a Class C felony for receiving stolen property.

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