Former Prosecutor’s Office employee pleads guilty after $90K goes missing
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - We’re learning more about the crimes a former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office employee is pleading guilty to.
Regene Newman worked in the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office for years. After that she worked for Community Corrections.
Now, court documents show she’s pleading guilty to felony wire fraud.
Prosecutor Diana Moers, who was not the prosecutor during Newman’s employment, says Newman used the department’s debit card for years like her own personal spending account.
She tells us account activity shows Newman went shopping and ate out at restaurants all on dime of her department.
“The expenses were shopping at the mall, shopping at Ulta, shopping at Target, nails, hair salon, Dairy Queen, other fast food restaurants,” she tells us. “Cash was taken out. So, really it looks like you’re looking at someone’s personal bank account.”
This spending over a period of years, Moers says added up to over $90,000.
Most of that money she tells us came from a non-profit set up by the former prosecutor that was supposed to support disadvantaged kids.
“I can’t really tell you what she was thinking, but this is obviously someone that has a problem and that chose to steal from the public and she should be punished for that,” said Moers.
Although receipts show how much Newman allegedly spent, Moers says the real cost to her department was much higher.
“Government offices, we don’t have a large budget particularly the prosecutor’s office. We pay our deputies a very modest salary here. We pay our employees a very modest salary here,” she explains. “It’s really disappointing that a public servant does this. It erodes public trust in the office.”
Prosecutor Moers says Newman is also accused of spending around $10,000 of county money when she worked at Vanderburgh County Community Corrections.
The money she’s accused of taking was meant to be used as part of a nonprofit for those seeking treatment for drug addiction
After taking a plea deal, Newman is set to be sentenced on July 31st.
Prosecutor Moers says she will give a victim’s impact statement when Newman is sentenced July 31st.
She says she’s asking the judge for jail time and that Newman be ordered to pay back all the money taken over the years.
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