Former Auburn Police assistant Christi Meyers faces theft felony charges
A warrant was issued for 59-year-old Christi Meyers, a former administrative assistant for the Auburn Police Department, after an internal review uncovered thousands of dollars in unauthorized purchases made with a departmental credit card, wane.com reported. Filed on Thursday in Allen County, court documents show Meyers faces three Level 6 felonies for theft, fraud, and official misconduct following her termination in June.
How Discovery of the Missing Funds Unfolded at the Police Department
Auburn Police Chief Cory Heffelfinger discovered discrepancies while cleaning out Meyers’s office after her termination, according to wane.com. Investigators found multiple Walmart gift cards that Meyers had been authorized to purchase for the department’s Shop With a Cop event. However, Heffelfinger also located a drained Visa gift card alongside three open packaging sleeves. Transaction records revealed the card had been activated for $500, with purchases including a $225 charge for the Indiana Christmas Train, an entity completely unaffiliated with the police department.
Credit card history and receipt records obtained by Indiana State Police detectives detailed four separate $1,000 transactions over four days at Walmart. An additional transaction of $1,006.84 followed immediately at the same retailer. A Kroger receipt further showed four Visa gift cards totaling $1,627.80, with individual activations of $500 and $100. One of these Kroger-purchased cards matched the Visa discovered inside Meyers’s office. Investigators noted that a customer loyalty account linked directly to Meyers was used during the Kroger checkout process.
Where Unauthorized Transactions Were Conducted Across Local Businesses
Surveillance footage and transaction logs tied Meyers to several unauthorized expenditures using the department-issued Visa cards, wane.com reported. A $225 charge for the Indiana Christmas Train was confirmed by an employee to be associated with Meyers’s personal account. Additional ticket purchases were traced to NCG Cinemas, where surveillance captured Meyers purchasing concessions with children.
Investigators also identified utility and retail spending. I&M confirmed that one of the disputed Visa cards was used across two separate transactions to pay utility bills linked to Meyers. Additional charges spanned Walmart, Dunham’s, The Salvation Army, CVS, Chow Hound, Casey’s, and Amazon. Chief Heffelfinger confirmed to Indiana State Police detectives that Walmart for Shop With a Cop was the sole authorized vendor and purpose for the departmental credit card, and that none of the other commercial locations were permitted.
What Happens Next as Law Enforcement Seeks the Suspect
When contacted by investigators regarding the disputed Visa gift card transactions, Meyers declined an in-person meeting and instructed detectives to forward all documentation to her legal representation, according to wane.com. An active arrest warrant remains in place for Meyers. Law enforcement officials have yet to take her into custody.