ATHENS, Ohio (WSYX) — The Athens County Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the county’s Job and Family Services executive director following her indictment on a third-degree felony count of theft in office, according to county records.
As of Tuesday, Demosky is charged with three counts of theft in office, two counts of intimidation, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, telecommunications fraus and misuse of credit cards.
Commissioners cited Jean Demosky’s indictment as the cause for her firing.
On Tuesday, County Commissioner Charlie Adkins was charged with intimidation in connection to Demosky’s case.
According to sources close to the commissioners office, Adkins would likely retain his position unless the prosecutor determines he is unfit to hold the postition.
Demosky, who began her role in 2018, is accused by the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office of using county…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.