Forensic audit finds $24,929.29 missing; Gratiot County refers findings to state police and treasury

Gratiot County officials announced that an independent forensic audit found $24,929.29 in misappropriated funds and that the audit results have been forwarded to the Michigan Department of Treasury and the Michigan State Police.

The finding came during a public portion of the Gratiot County Board of Commissioners meeting, when a county official summarized the audit: “We have received notice from that their review is complete in finding that $24,929.29 in misappropriated funds. The findings are being sent to the State of Michigan Department of Treasury and the Michigan State Police for its investigation and handling of the matter, and we will have no further comment at this time and are moving forward with preparing to hire a replacement administrator.”

The county said the audit was conducted by the accounting firm Yoh and Yoh and followed the resignation of the county’s former administrator. The board statement did not identify alleged suspects or describe the specific accounts affected; it said the matter is now with state authorities and that the county will not comment further while the investigations proceed.

County leaders also said they are preparing to recruit a replacement county administrator. No timeline for the administrator search or details of interim responsibilities were provided at the meeting.

Background: the announcement was made publicly by county leadership during the meeting and the county described the next step as referral to state investigators and preparations to recruit a new administrator. The county did not provide additional documentation or a public release of the full audit report during the session.