Former Baldwin Clerk Accused of Taking More Than $63,000 in Payments to Town

Investigative auditors for Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera uncovered $63,504 in cash payments to the town of Baldwin that were never deposited into the bank, according to a report released Monday.

Although three town employees collected payments for utilities, fines, etc., auditors were able to determine that one now-former office clerk was responsible for processing nearly all of the missing funds. The former clerk, Natashia Lancelin, allegedly failed to properly record cash payments to the town and created false public records to conceal the amounts collected but not deposited.

According to the state auditor, “Ms. Lancelin stated that she did not take money from the Town and could not explain why cash payments that she received and processed were not deposited.” The other two clerks also denied taking funds from the town.

“However, it appears that Ms. Lancelin failed to properly record payments and created false public records to conceal cash payments collected but not deposited,” auditors wrote.

The Town did not have written policies and procedures relating to collections. But as a result of this investigation, measures have been put in place to prevent these issues from reoccurring down the road. The District Attorney for the 16^th Judicial District has also been notified of the findings in the report.