The longtime fiscal officer for the embattled Village of New Holland has been fired after allegations of embezzlement.
Mavis L. Yourchuck was terminated Friday, January 24 after it was uncovered that she was padding money on her payroll, according to sources inside the Pickaway County Sheriff’s office.
Details about Yourchuck’s alleged embezzlement are scarce until additional public records are released on Monday, including the amount taken.
On Friday, New Holland Police Chief Chris Mosley was seen visiting with top command staff members at the Sheriff’s office discussing the investigation. It is reported that Yourchuck is facing at least one felony count of theft-in-office, which is expected to be filed through the Sheriff’s office at the beginning of the week. Additional charges are likely, officials told the Guardian.
First hired by the village in the early 2000s, Yourchuck was in charge of payroll, as well as the water department billing for the town of less than 800. She was the clerk for council, paid the bills for the village, and handled the village’s bank accounts.
No one from the village answered the phone Friday afternoon when the Guardian called.
This is not the first time allegations have surfaced about Yourchuck stealing money, however, it is the first time she has been fired with criminal charges impending.
In 2018, the Guardian’s editor, Derek Myers wrote for Fayette Advocate that Yourchuck gave herself a $3,000 check without approval from the village. When then-Police Chief Jason Lawless tried to arrest her, former Mayor Claire “Butch” Betzko reportedly put a stop to it and Yourchuck turned the check back in before cashing it.
In that case, she made out a check for herself for thousands of more dollars than she had earned, according to public records obtained by the Guardian. The check was for a net $2,391, with a gross of $3,516 for a single pay-period. Yourchuck’s normally-earned wages were $318.
Because the check was never deposited, Yourchuck was re-issued a new check for her actual-earned wages and she was never arrested for the incident, which was scoffed as “a mistake.”
In an audit released in 2018 by the State Auditor, Dave Yost noted that Yourchuck had moved around money without obtaining council’s approval and that it could lead to misuse of funds.
According to the Auditor, Yourchuck transferred $12,950 from the “Sewer Operating Fund” to the “Other Capital Projects Fund” on December 30, 2016 to allegedly help cover expenses for the Waste Water Treatment Plant Spiral Screen project, but did not obtain council approval.
“Failure to obtain council approval for transfers prior to transfers being made could result in the noncompliance transfers or misuse of funds,” Yost said.
Another time, Yourchuck was caught stealing village property through a complex scheme of free gifts, according to records.
In July 2017, a press release that was suppose to be sent out by the police department says that a confidential informant was placed inside the New Holland Village Office and that, “During the course of [a] covert operation, Yourchuck was photographed stealing expensive cookware – valued at hundreds of dollars – gifted to the village from a supply-vendor; the cookware came as an ‘added bonus’ to the village for ordering more than $1,000 in office supplies. It is believed Yourchuck racked up unnecessary purchases in order to secure the gift.”
That allegation made in the July 2017 drafted press release is corroborated by Yost, who had said in the 2018 audit that the village had illegally received gifts from Quill.com.
“Throughout fiscal years 2015 through 2017, the Village received a variety of gifts or free items from Quill.com,” Auditor Yost said. “The receipt of gifts from vendors could result in the village buying more supplies or paying higher costs for supplies than is necessary for the village.”
Yost said receiving the gifts is a violation of Ohio’s law, which states each gift is a first degree misdemeanor; that means every gift is worth a maximum of six months in jail.
According to sources, it was village police chief William “Jason” Lawless who took the pictures of Yourchuck, after another employee passed the information along to him. Once the pictures were taken, Lawless told Betzko, who pleaded with Lawless not to arrest Yourchuck for theft charges.
In addition to the cookware being taken home by Yourchuck, according to at least two sources, Betzko took home some of the dinner gift cards illegally gifted to the village.
As for the theft of the Quill.com gifts, no one was ever charged for the village receiving the gifts, or for employees taking them home.
While Yourchuck was fired Friday, the criminal charges for the latest round of embezzlement allegations are not expected to be officially served on her until next week.