HILLIARD, OH (WCMH) — A former City of Hilliard employee was indicted Thursday on eight felony counts related to missing deposits from the city’s pools.
Heather H. Ernst is accused of stealing approximately $540,000 from the city over four years.
“Ms. Ernst abused her position of power to manipulate records and deceive the City’s Finance Department in order to benefit herself,” said Mayor Don Schonhardt. “Any violation of the public trust will result in that individual being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ernst is accused of not fully depositing daily cash proceeds from pool admission fees and then providing false information to the city to support the missing deposits.
Ernst was employed by the City of Hilliard for 24 years until her resignation on Nov. 1. She most recently served as the Deputy Director of the Recreation and Parks Department from 2012 to the date of her resignation. In this position, she was responsible for the daily accounting of cash intakes and daily cash deposits for the City’s two pools.
Charges against Ernst include:
- One count of theft
- One count of theft in office
- Two counts of tampering with records
- Four counts of filing incomplete, false and fraudulent tax returns.
Hilliard City Council released this statement:
Members of Hilliard City Council today were notified by County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien of the indictment of former City of Hilliard Deputy Director Heather Ernst on multiple felony charges. This situation is of deep concern to Council. We take this issue seriously and will take action to ensure anyone convicted of actions to deceive and defraud our city and citizens is held responsible and makes restitution.
The indictment today is the result of an in-depth investigation by multiple agencies, and we extend our gratitude to all those involved, especially the Hilliard Police Department.
We expect, as do the Hilliard residents we represent, that our city employees, especially those in positions of responsibility and authority, will serve our city in the most transparent, ethical manner.
The investigation established that approximately $540,000 was stolen from the city. We are committed to recovering what was stolen. Additionally, we will deploy resources to ensure there are clear lines of compliance and built-in protocols that strengthen our financial infrastructure moving forward. Maintaining the public’s confidence in our city operations is of the utmost importance to Council.
