Hockett is accused of pocketing cash and destroying checks from May 2023 to this summer while she was working as a community services clerk at the auditor’s office.
The Dayton Daily News reached out to Hockett’s attorney, Tony Abboud, for comment and did not hear back.
Dog licenses are required by Ohio law for dog owners, and the tags can cost $25 or more per dog. The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office also collects fees for the transfer of ownership of mobile homes — this costs $3 per $1,000 in value for a mobile home property sale.
Also collected by the county auditor are retail cigarette license fees, which cost $125 per retail location annually. These payments are due in May every year. Money missing with these fees is what triggered an investigation at the auditor’s office, officials said in a press release last week.
This news outlet obtained Hockett’s personnel records in a public records request. Community services clerks are tasked with processing applications for license feeds, preparing checks for deposit, operating the cash register and balancing receipts, according to records.
Hockett’s file showed that on Nov. 25, she received a notice from her employer that a pre-disciplinary meeting was scheduled for the next day.
This notice, authored by chief deputy auditor Kate Evans, alleged that Hockett violated personnel policy through “unsatisfactory performance, dishonesty, discourteous treatment of public and malfeasance, as it related to the theft of money and mishandling of checks.”
An order to remove Hockett from her position was signed on Nov. 26.
“It has been determined that during 2023 and 2024 you engaged in theft in office by stealing cash deposits being made for the purchase of cigarette licenses, dog licenses and mobile home fees,” the order stated. “Additionally, you mishandled checks that you received at your station for the purchase of cigarette licenses, dog licenses and mobile home fees.”
The order also said that Hockett denied any knowledge about the missing money and checks, but she later admitted to Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office investigators that she took the money and destroyed the checks.
An indictment is merely a set of allegations. Hockett had no reprimands prior to this incident in her personnel file. She was earning $29.39 hourly at the time of her removal, according to records.
Hockett is scheduled to appear in court again for a scheduling hearing on Jan. 2.
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