Dakota County Clerk Accused Of Embezzling $650,000

DAKOTA COUNTY, MN—The former clerk of the Township of Vermillion is facing charges after being accused of stealing $650,000 of Township funds, United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced in a news release.

Maryann Helen Stoffel, 70 of Hastings, has been charged with one count of wire fraud after being accused of misappropriating Township funds from December 2012 to October 2020, the U.S. attorney said.

Stoffel had signature authority over the Township’s bank account through her role as clerk, however Township checks require two signatures. Officials said that Stoffel sometimes forged the signatures of the Township’s treasurer and the chairman of the Township board. In other instances, Stoffel would ask the representatives for their signatures, saying she was using the checks to pay the Township’s bills, the U.S. Attorney said.

Instead of using the funds to pay the Township’s bills, Stoffel transferred the money into her own bank account, and hid her fraud by excluding the payments to herself from the Township from the Township’s annual report, the U.S. attorney said.

The charges brought against Stoffel are a result of an FBI investigation, the news release said.