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Former Monroe County Auditor Charged With Felony Fraud, Official Misconduct

Last updated on Wednesday, October 12, 2016

(BLOOMINGTON) - Former Monroe County Auditor Steve Saulter was charged Tuesday with felony fraud and official misconduct for using his county-issued credit card 15 times in the fall of 2015 to purchase food and medicine.

The Herald Times reports that Saulter admitted making the $620 in purchases at Walmart, Kroger and Marsh, but told a police detective he "accidentally" used the office credit card instead of his personal debit card because he was under a lot of personal stress at the time and the cards were similar in appearance.

The suspicious purchases were made between September 5 and October 10 of last year. Police documented 13 transactions at various Kroger stores in Bloomington, two at Walmart and two at a Marsh store. "All of the transactions were caught on video and all of them showed suspect Saulter using the credit card to purchase prescription medications and food for his personal use," the affidavit reads.

Saulter's wife had been ill, and she died on February 14 of this year.

Lt. Shawn Karr, a detective with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, compared Saulter's debit card with the county-issued card, and they were "partly the same color," he wrote in a probable-cause affidavit filed in Monroe Circuit Court, but had distinct differences.

Attorney Stanley Levco from Evansville, appointed a special prosecutor in the case, filed three counts of fraud and one count of official misconduct. They are Level 6 felonies that carry a possible jail term of six months to 21/2 years and a $10,000 fine.

Saulter, 64, was issued a summons to appear in court for an initial hearing on October 25.

Saulter had been the county auditor for 7.5 years, then resigned in July as a special prosecutor's investigation continued.

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