County treasurer in Michigan falls for Nigerian scam
Alcona Co. treasurer charged with stealing county funds
By DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU
The longtime treasurer of Alcona County in northeast lower Michigan has been removed from his job and charged with nine felonies for allegedly stealing county money to invest in the notorious online Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud Scheme, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced today.
Thomas Katona, 56, was arraigned in Harrisville today after an investigation that began in December when county officials learned he had directed eight unauthorized wire transfers totaling $186,500 to beneficiaries linked to the Nigerian Advance scheme, Cox said in a statement. Investigators also found that Katona had wired $72,500 of his own money to the same accounts.
An audit of county books in December indicates a shortfall of $1.25 million, more than a quarter of the county’s annual $4-million budget, the Cox statement said.
Source: The Freep