For over five years, State Auditor Rob Sand investigated the Johnson County Conservation Department regarding the misuse of funds. The final report, released Tuesday, outlines misuse of thousands of dollars by the department.
“The special investigation was requested by County and Department officials as a result of concerns regarding management of Departmental inventory and certain financial transactions of the Conservation Department, which was administered by the former Director, Larry Gullett and the Operations Superintendent, Wade Schultz,” according to documents provided by the Office of Auditor of State.
Specific concerns included Gullet violating the law, fair labor, and human rights, Schultz stealing department resources, both being rarely seen at work, theft, and more.
The special investigation spanned from Jan. 1, 2019, to June 30, 2024, during which Sand performed a variety of procedures.
Some procedures included interviewing Johnson County officials and department personnel, obtaining and reviewing cell phone records for Schultz, looking over credit card and bank accounts, and more.
RELATED: Brad Freidhof begins as Johnson County Conservation executive director
Anonymous letters, copies of photos, and copies of social media posts also served as proof in the investigation.
In addition, the procedures performed found a total of nearly $94,000 in funds were used throughout improper disbursements, unsupported disbursements, and uncollected revenues.
Improper disbursements included unauthorized payroll for Schultz, improper credit card transactions, improper fuel purchases, and more that totaled $63,504.57.
A total of $24,602.12 in unsupported disbursements included purchases made using the department’s credit card, charge accounts, and checks issued by Johnson County.
Lastly, the $5,381.60 of uncollected revenue uncovered found that wood inventory was either given away for free, used for personal reasons, or traded for other items.
The investigation discussed other misuses of the funds, such as payroll, paid time off, Ioway Gathering Disbursements, and more.
During the investigation, the audit stated Gullett and Schultz were both placed on administrative leave effective immediately on June 6, 2024.
However, Gullett cited his administrative leave due to stage four esophageal cancer, during which Brad Friedhof took over as interim director. Gullett later died in September 2024.
Schultz is still listed as a staff member on the Johnson County Conservation website.
The investigation ended with Sand recommending several new procedures for county and department officials to prevent this from occurring again.
Copies of the report have also been shared with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Johnson County’s Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.