Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Ohio Farmers Union: $1.2 million lawsuit filed in embezzlement scheme
by Kristy Foster Seachrist
Ohio Farmers Union: $1.2 million lawsuit filed in embezzlement scheme
SALEM, Ohio — The former treasurer of the Ohio Farmer’s Union and the wife of Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler was sentenced to three years in jail. She is now asking for early release from the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Kathy Beutler, of Columbus Grove, Ohio, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated theft, a third degree felony.
The theft occurred between April 2005 and May 2009. Beutler pleaded guilty to embezzling between $100,000 and $500,000.
In addition, The Ohio Farmers Union has filed a lawsuit against Beutler, her husband Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler, former executive director Roger D. Crossgrove and the accounting firm, Lentol, Violet, Kienitz and Company. The case was filed Oct. 7 in Putnam County Common Pleas Court and is seeking more than $1.2 million in damages.
