Sheriff's wife gets 3 years in prison for stealing $260,000 from employer

BLADE STAFF

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OTTAWA, Ohio - The wife of Putnam County Sheriff James Beutler was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for stealing more than $260,000 from her former employer, the Ohio Farmers Union.

Visiting Judge Keith P. Muehlfeld of Henry County also ordered Kathy Beutler, 47, of Columbus Grove to pay $61,159 in restitution to the farmers union, plus up to $20,000 for a forensic audit, and a $500 fine. The farmers union has already received $200,000 through an insurance policy.

Beutler pleaded guilty in Putnam County Common Pleas Court Sept. 23 to a bill of information charging her with aggravated theft, a third-degree felony. She admitted to making at least 86 unauthorized direct deposits from the Ohio Farmers Union to her personal checking account between April, 2005 and May, 2009.

The farmers union is a nonprofit, statewide organization that lobbies and advocates on behalf of family farms.

Beutler, who worked as secretary-treasurer of the agency at its home office in Ottawa, was fired last June after the theft was discovered. Her sentencing was postponed twice at the request of the farmers union, which said it needed additional time to ascertain its total financial loss.

Beutler, whose husband has been sheriff since 2001, had been free on her own recognizance since the charge was filed last September.

Ottawa is the county seat of Putnam County and is located 65 southwest of Toledo.

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