COLUMBUS – Hilliard’s former deputy parks director has been indicted for pocketing more than $500,000 from the city’s swimming pools.
Heather Ernst was indicted Thursday on eight felony counts by a Franklin County grand jury resulting from the investigation into missing cash deposits from fees collected at the City’s two pools, according to a release from the city.
Ernst, 47, who worked for the city for for 24 years, most recently as the Deputy Director of the Recreation and Parks Department from 2012 until her resignation last November, is facing one count of theft, one count of theft in office, two counts of tampering with records, and four counts of filing incomplete, false and fraudulent tax returns, said Anna Subler, the city’s communications administrator.
“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” city council president Albert Iosue was quoted as saying in a separate release.
As deputy director, Ernst was responsible for the daily accounting of cash and deposits for the city’s two pools but an investigation by Hilliard police, the state auditor’s office and the Ohio Department of Taxation found that daily cash proceeds from pool admission fees were not deposited in full and that Ernst lied to the city to support the shortfall, which amounted to $540,000 over four years, Subler said.
The case now moves to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court.