State auditor accuses ex-director of Nebraska senior center of embezzling money

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A former director of a senior center in western Nebraska is under investigation for alleged embezzlement.

On Wednesday, Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley released a letter detailing Jeanine Herman’s “financial impropriety.”

Herman was the director of the Keith County Senior Center in Ogallala.

Foley said thousands of dollars in suspicious payments were made to Herman before she left the agency in March.

“This is a classic example of what can and does go wrong when any entity trusts one person to have total control over financial transactions to the point where he or she can make improper payments without detection due to a lack of oversight and controls,” Foley wrote.

Herman processed $13,620 in excessive payroll and improper sick and leave payments to herself, the state auditor’s office said.

The “apparent malfeasance” has been reported to the Nebraska State Patrol, the Keith County attorney and the Nebraska attorney general, Foley said.