Clarksburg, WV – On Friday, June 2, 2023, Suzette Wagner was sentenced in Harrison County Circuit Court following a guilty plea of embezzlement for stealing more than $85,000 from her former employer, the City of Clarksburg.
Harrison Chief Circuit Judge Christopher McCarthy sentenced Wagner to 1-10 years which will be served on home confinement. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the City of Clarksburg in the amount of $85,348, due within five days of the sentencing. Additionally, over the next four years, she will have to pay restitution to the State Auditor’s Office in the amount of $39,607 for the expenses and time spent investigating the case. Wagner worked for the city for 28 years and retired in 2019 as the Chief Tax and Fee Collector.
Shortly after her retirement, an investigation began into missing funds. The WV State Auditor’s Public Integrity and Fraud Unit assisted Harrison County Sheriff’s Detectives on the case. Investigators found the embezzlement occurred from December 2017 through the end of 2019, when Wagner retired.
“This case in an excellent example of the partnerships forged between our Public Integrity and Fraud Unit and investigative agencies throughout the state,” State Auditor JB McCuskey said. “The expertise of our PIF-U in analyzing complex financial crimes is a great asset, and compliment, to the work from our local police officers and Sheriff’s deputies. We have developed a mechanism to go after those who are stealing taxpayer dollars and to finally hold them accountable, hopefully sending the message that this will not be tolerated.”
In court, Wagner said she would adjust accounts to cover the money she was stealing and used the money to pay bills. Harrison County Assistant Prosecutor Brad Pustolski prosecuted the case. Since 2018, the West Virginia State Auditor’s Public Integrity and Fraud Unit has secured 52 felony convictions, with more than $2.2 million ordered in restitution.