COLUMBUS – A former Village of Sabina police officer responsible for the police department’s drug buy fund owes $1,040 after he failed to properly produce the money upon request, according to an audit of the village released Thursday by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

According to Yost, during the period Oct. 29, 2014 to Aug. 13, 2015, former officer Olin Mills was in charge of the police department’s drug-buy fund and was the only person with access to the safe where the money was stored. The department uses the fund for undercover drug purchases.

According to the “Confidential Informant Information Money Log” maintained by Mills, the fund balance totaled $1,040 when Village Police Chief Keynon Young asked him to produce the money for inspection on Aug. 13, 2015. Mills left and allegedly obtained bills from another source before returning. He then tried to substitute the bills for the funds that were supposed to be in the safe, but they did not correspond with those recorded in the money log, according to Yost.

Mills’ case has been reported on previously by the News Journal.

“Segregation of duties is one of the easiest ways to prevent fraud, theft and misuse of tax dollars,” Yost said. “While Mills never should have been the lone keeper of the fund, Chief Young’s vigilance alerted him that something was amiss before more damage was done.”

A finding for recovery in the amount of $1,040 was issued against Mills. He resigned from his position with the police department in 2015.

On April 25, Mills was indicted on one fourth-degree felony count of theft in office. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for July 8 at 1:15 p.m.

A full copy of this report is available online at https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Search.aspx.