About 160 engaged couples in Anoka County were blissfully ignorant of how a clerk was taking advantage of their happy occasion to make a quick buck.
Anoka County clerk diverted marriage fees to own pocket
Former Anoka County worker pleaded guilty to altering marriage applications to collect part of the fees.
August 30, 2011 at 4:04AM
Over three years, Connie J. Smith made $7,197 from forged or inaccurate marriage license applications, according to criminal charges. One modus operandi was quite simple: Couples receive a $60 discount if they take 12 hours of premarital counseling. For some of those who did not and paid the full $110, she would create dummy paperwork and pocket the additional money, said assistant county attorney Kurt Deile.
Smith, 52, of Ramsey, pleaded guilty Monday to felony theft over $5,000 and could be sentenced to 45 days in jail. Two other felony charges of aggravated forgery and theft by swindle were dismissed.
Neither Smith nor her attorney could be reached for comment.
Why she took the money is unclear, Deile said. Smith has no known criminal history, he said. She no longer works for the county.
Smith was employed with the county's vital statistics department from January 2008 to October 2010.
Every county is required to offer the $60 discount for a marriage license if the couple take an approved class. When the fee is paid, a county employee enters the applicants' names into a computer to generate a receipt.
At day's end, an accounting would ensure that the number of applicants matched the fees collected, the criminal complaint said. A second employee then entered applicants' full request to create the actual marriage license.
According to the complaint, investigators discovered four ways Smith stole money through the application process:
• She created 13 false marriage licenses for couples who never applied, and pocketed the $110 fee for each license.
• In four cases, she created certificates for couples, charged them $110 and entered only a fraction of the fee paid in the computer system.
• For 39 couples, she entered a $40 fee payment even though they paid the full $110.
• She forged 38 marriage fee waiver statements, but each couple contacted by investigators said they paid the full $110.
Smith's crimes won't affect the license status of any of the couples, but the county is out the $7,197, Deile said.
David Chanen • 612-673-4465
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