(The Center Square) – A former southeastern Ohio county sheriff pleaded guilty to withdrawing department funds and using them for personal use, according to State Auditor Keith Faber.
Faber said former Meigs County Sheriff Keith Wood, who resigned in November, pleaded guilty to one felony count of theft in office as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, three years of community control and ordered to make $5,000 in restitution.
The restitution includes money that was stolen and audit costs.
A violation of the plea deal would land Wood in jail for up to 12 months. He is also barred from serving in public office, Faber said.
Wood was elected sheriff in November 2012.
A grand jury indicted Wood in February on charges of theft in office, telecommunications fraud, misuse of credit cards and soliciting or accepting improper compensation.
The theft charge included $4,562, and the indictment said he got it without the county’s consent.
The indictments come from incidents between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 11, 2022.
Faber’s Special Investigations Unit began its probe of the former sheriff in August 2022 after receiving a complaint from Meigs County Prosecutor James Stanley about the potential misuse of money from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund.
Faber said the unit confirmed Wood used ATMs to withdraw cash from the fund at different locations in Ohio and West Virginia.
According to Faber, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 117 convictions resulting in more than $8.2 million in restitution since 2019.
The largest came in June when the former Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority director pleaded guilty to several charges in exchange for an 8-12 prison sentence. She was also ordered to repay more than $2.3 million.
