Former Village of New Concord Fiscal Officer Sentenced to 7 years in prison
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Lynn Marlatt will serve seven years in prison and repay the village of New Concord $475,521.75, according to a press release from the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s office. She will also be required to pay the Ohio Auditor of State $16,359.00 to cover the costs of auditing and investigating her theft of public funds during her time as fiscal officer for the village.
Marlatt became the fiscal officer for New Concord in 2012 and was terminated in November 2023, after the theft of funds was discovered. According to a press release from the Ohio Auditor of State’s office, the theft was discovered when a local bank contacted village officials about suspicious activity involving a dormant village bank account.
The investigation established that Marlatt used her position in the Village of New Concord to steal money from Village accounts for personal use by transferring Village funds from active accounts into an account that was believed to have been closed several years ago.
“Stealing from anyone is unacceptable but to steal from your own community is a violation of trust that shakes the public’s confidence and deserves significant consequences,” said Prosecutor Ron Welch in the press release. “Those consequences were delivered in this case.”
New Concord Mayor Robert Dixon talked about the impacts of Marlatt’s actions during the Feb. 23 sentencing hearing. Dixon said the thefts resulted in budget shortfalls that impacted staffing and public safety and the village had to add .75% income tax to residents due to the lack of funds.
