Soil and Water secretary accused of embezzling pleads guilty

A former secretary at the Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District accused of embezzling taxpayer funds has changed her plea to guilty.

Jessica R. Rutter, a 39-year-old Newton resident facing first-degree theft charges for allegedly taking more than $22,000 in funds, entered the guilty plea in a Feb. 11 hearing in Jasper County Court. She initially filed a plea of not guilty in the case.

According to documents filed in Jasper County Court, leadership at the soil and water district identified the financial discrepancies in an audit in May of 2018 and linked it to Rutter. She met with district representatives June 5, 2018, and reportedly admitted to duplicating payroll checks to herself as well as using the agency’s credit card for personal purchases. The audit revealed the alleged theft took place April 1, 2015, according to trial information in court records.

A public report filed by the stat auditor’s office in November 2018 identified $22,232 in improper and unsupported spending of funds at the soil and water conservation district based in Newton.

Rutter is scheduled to be sentenced in a hearing at 9:30 a.m. April 15 in Jasper County Court.

Rutter was arrested in December and taken to the Jasper County Jail. She was released on a $10,000 surety bond Dec. 17, 2018.

First-degree theft is a class C felony in Iowa, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Jasper County was the second soil and water conservation district to have uncovered embezzled funds last year, joining districts in Black Hawk and Bremer Counties.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com