Missing scholarship money mars 2017 Palouse Empire Fair audit

COLFAX - Three checks for the Palouse Empire Fair royalty scholarship were cashed in May 2017 and the $1,350 vanished.

“Those checks were cashed, but the funds were not deposited into the county’s bank account. The vendors provided copies of the cancelled checks, which did not provide enough information to identify either the bank or bank account that ultimately received the funds,” wrote state auditor Pat McCarthy in an Oct. 15 fraud investigation report.

In October 2017, five months after the checks were cashed, all three county employees responsible for daily operations “left the county’s e...