{"id":209650,"date":"2026-09-02T20:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T01:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=209650"},"modified":"2026-09-02T20:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T01:34:18","slug":"former-library-director-improperly-used-credit-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/09\/02\/former-library-director-improperly-used-credit-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Former library director improperly used credit card"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special state audit has revealed that the former director of the Brumback Library repaid more than $15,000, after it was discovered he used a library credit card for personal purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details of the investigation into John Carr are included in a report released on Tuesday by the Auditor of State\u2019s Special Investigations Unit (SIU). Carr served as library director from July of 1992 through his retirement in August of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SIU launched its investigation based on concerns raised by the Van Wert County Prosecutor\u2019s Office that Carr was making personal purchases using the library\u2019s Amazon credit card. After the information obtained from interviews and preliminary examination of Amazon records was considered, a special audit was declared by the Auditor of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report states that SIU reviewed nearly 15,000 credit card purchases made between November of 2017 and October of 2022 and determined that 481 items totaling $15,322.27 were made by Carr for personal use, including $9,668.92 in kitchenware and $1,932.45 worth of clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Based on the special audit procedures and investigation, the Auditor of State confirmed the allegation that John Carr purchased items for his personal benefit over a span of five years,” the audit report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The special audit report included a finding for recovery for that amount and noted that Carr had repaid the total under audit, including $6,683.78 paid directly to the credit card account and $8,638.49 paid to the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Van Wert County Prosecutor\u2019s Office appointed an SIU attorney as special prosecutor in the case. At the conclusion of the special audit, SIU declined to pursue criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The special audit report is available online at ohioauditor.gov\/auditsearch\/search.aspx<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July of 2023, Carr was placed on a five-day by the library\u2019s Board of Trustees. The leave was tied to an incident with a library visitor, but no other information was made available. Several days later, Carr announced he was retiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A statement signed by Board of Trustees offered praise of Carr and cited a number of accomplishments during his 32 years as director. However, it did not address his suspension or the circumstances surrounding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carr\u2019s replacement, Nellie Schmidt was hired in January of 2024, and began her new duties in early June of that year. When contacted about the results of the audit and steps taken to prevent possible future improprities, Schmidt shared a statement issued by the library’s Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Since January 2024, the Brumback Library and its Board of Trustees have taken significant steps to modernize the Library\u2019s accounting practices and strengthen financial oversight,” the statement said. “The library now uses a digital accounting system with electronic records for invoices and reimbursements, cross-references its records with the county\u2019s accounting system, and has multiple levels of review involving library administration, the board finance chair, and the full board. The updated process was fully implemented in 2026 following review by the library\u2019s regional representative from the Ohio Auditor of State\u2019s Office. As stewards of state and local taxpayer dollars, the board takes its responsibility for transparency, accountability, and responsible use of public funds very seriously.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor A special state audit has revealed that the former director of the Brumback Library repaid more than $15,000, after it was discovered he used a library credit card for personal purchases. Details of the investigation into John Carr are included in a report released on Tuesday by the Auditor of State\u2019s Special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topstory"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-10 00:59:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209650"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209675,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209650\/revisions\/209675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}