Former Sherburne County commissioner accused of embezzling nearly $800,000

ST. CLOUD - A former Sherburne County commissioner who was charged with stalking his ex-fiancée last year is now also accused of stealing nearly $800,000 from the woman's personal and business accounts, according to criminal charges filed in Sherburne County District Court.

Timothy J. Dolan, 40, of Becker, was charged with one felony count of stalking and five gross misdemeanor counts of interfering with privacy in October after reportedly taking thousands of photos of his ex-girlfriend without her consent and violating a restraining order. Then, in early June, he was charged with with one felony count of identity theft and one felony count of check forgery as part of a separate but related case.

According to court documents, the woman owned a marketing and social media consulting business and hired Dolan to handle finances sometime before 2015. The woman was given access to Dolan's work computer and phone after he suffered a medical emergency in May 2022. That June, Dolan told the Monticello Times he had an aortic aneurysm and had to undergo open-heart surgery.

On the devices the woman found an estimated 20,000 pictures and videos of herself in "various stages of undress" or "during sexual relations" that were taken without her consent, documents state. The woman also found multiple business credit cards she had not applied for and notices of overdue payments for the business.

An initial review of the business checking account "showed from a period between 2015 and May 2022 over $600,000 in debits made by the defendant not approved/authorized by the victim," and total unauthorized charges on the woman's personal accounts are estimated to exceed $185,000, court documents state.

Dolan could not be reached for comment. His term as a commissioner was up at the end of 2022 and he did not run for re-election. His next court appearance for both cases is scheduled for July 6.