Following an investigation by county auditors and police officers, county employee Robert Moyer turned himself into police on Friday afternoon, charged with embezzling county funds.
Moyer, 39, was working with newly elected Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, but he had spent the last 19 years working in the office of County Treasurer Frank O’Leary. According to Kevin Appel, chief deputy treasurer, Moyer had used fraudulent credit card reimbursements to funnel $3,312 into his own accounts. According to police reports and an account released by O’Leary, Moyer admitted to the embezzlement in a conversation with county officials.
<b>THE ARREST DOES</b> not end the investigation, said Police Department spokesman Matt Martin. “It’s still very early on, the arrest just occurred. The investigation is ongoing.”
That does not mean other arrests are likely, though. “We don’t have any indication of further arrests, but there may be things that come up in the investigation, that reveal other crimes,” said Martin.
Coming from a long-time employee, Appel said, the crime provoked feelings of betrayal, and grief. “Our head of accounting said, ‘We’re just heartsick.’ This is like having a family member get in trouble.”
Morroy said she was similarly shaken by the investigation, and by Moyer’s admission. “It’s been a rough week,” she said. “I was shocked. He was a very, very talented employee. He was well respected by many people.”
Moyer started working with her after her swearing in in January. He was part of a team charged by Morroy with updating the way the Commissioner of Revenue’s office works.
<b>SUSPICION WAS AROUSED</b> last Tuesday during a review of county credit card expenses. An employee in the treasurer’s office noticed duplicate payments for some items, and brought the issue to O’Leary.
He asked County Controller Barbara Liechti to review the records on her own, and confirmed the suspicions. O’Leary called Police Chief Doug Scott to report his suspicions, and on Thursday, the treasurer, Morroy and Liechti discussed the case with two police detectives from the county’s financial crimes division.
Later that day, O’Leary discussed the allegations with Moyer. “In the course of that conversation, [Moyer] admitted he had done it for about a year and a half,” said Appel. “Initially, he tried to makes excuses. Then when it became clear we had pretty strong evidence, he agreed to cooperate fully.” On Thursday afternoon, Morroy fired Moyer, and on Friday the man turned himself into county police.
The embezzlement allegedly took place through six credit card reimbursements; Moyer would charge an item on a county credit card, said Appel, and then submit a second reimbursement request, with funds from that going into his personal accounts.
“Over time, he found that if he needed extra cash, he could find a loophole,” said Appel.
<b>THERE HAVE BEEN</B> no past incidents of embezzlement by employees of the county treasurer, said Appel. “This is the first time someone in the treasurer’s office was charged with embezzlement. In my 20 years in office, this is the first time we’ve had something like this.”
Last September, James Cannon, a Bethesda resident, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia of embezzling $65,000 from AHC, the non-profit housing corporation in the county.
Moyer’s case does raise some concerns in county offices, both that there may be some undetected money in this case and that other cases may have gone undetected. “The treasurer requested that the County Controller look at all reimbursements for the last two years,” said Appel. “Any additional information will be turned over to the police.”
Morroy said her office, too, would be audited by a third party. “Right now, expenses and reimbursements are being audited, and we’re going to do that on a periodic basis — quarterly.”
In the meantime, Appel said, county staff are coming to grips with the current allegations. “He essentially became the Radar O’Reilly of this office, the treasurer’s go-to guy,” said Appel.