State auditors are investigating a “suspected loss of public funds” involving at least one Spokane County employee, officials confirmed Thursday.
An anonymous tipster this week alerted several local news outlets to the investigation, saying a large amount of taxpayer money had been stolen by an employee in the county’s risk management department. Officials would not say if the case involves suspected theft or embezzlement. The amount in question was not immediately clear.
County spokesman Jared Webley confirmed that the same risk management employee was terminated in May, though he declined to say if her firing was related to the auditors’ investigation. No charges have been filed against the employee.
Reached by phone Thursday, the employee confirmed she had left the position in May, but declined to comment further.
Webley said no other risk management employees have been fired or placed on administrative leave this year. He confirmed that Steve Bartel, the director of the risk management department, reported the suspected loss of funds to the state auditor’s office, as the county is required to do under state…
