$9,000 in county money missing; ex-employee charged

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A former employee of the Marion County clerk’s office has been charged with 11 counts of forgery linked to nearly $9,000 found to be missing from the office.

According to court documents, an investigation found 39 separate incidents between 2009 and 2011 where money was improperly removed from the office’s cash tills. Sheila Lang, 64, former senior account tech for the clerk’s office, admitted to taking the money, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Lang told investigators a job change in the clerk’s office cut her pay significantly, and she needed more money to pay for food and bills, according to court documents, and she told investigators she wanted to pay the money back.

Lang was charged with collecting cashiers’ cash drawers at the end of the day and checking that their contents matched documentation provided by the cashiers. She also made daily bank deposits for the office.

According to court documents, on dozens of occasions she took money from the drawers and altered the documentation to try to cover up the discrepancy. Lang also attempted to use money orders from people making payments to the office for things such as child support to try to cover up the missing money, according to the probable cause affidavit. Those actions resulted in payments from people not being reflected on their accounts – and it was a complaint in such a case that led to the investigation.

Formal charges were filed Monday. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Kendale Adams said there was no record of Lang’s arrest.