The Iowa Auditor of State announced Thursday that the office is opening an investigation into a long-running theft allegedly committed by the head of the Southern Iowa Council of Governments.
Earlier this week, Creston police arrested SICOG’s executive director, Timothy Ostroski, and charged him with four counts of felony forgery and one count of felony first-degree theft.
According to court records, police allege that over the course of 20 years, from January 2002 through December 2021, Ostroski, 70, wrongfully obtained more than $10,000 from SICOG.
During that time, police allege, Ostroski facilitated the creation of “multiple checks” that were made payable to another individual for cleaning services that were never actually provided. Ostroski then would deposit the checks into his own checking account.
He also is accused of fraudulently endorsing checks by signing the name of another individual to the backs of the checks without her permission.
Court records indicate Ostroski has yet to enter a plea in the case, and a trial date has yet to be scheduled.
SICOG provides economic development services to smaller communities in southern Iowa through the delivery of planning services and assistance with technical programs and grant applications.
Ostroski has served as executive director of both SICOG and the Southern Iowa Development Group since 1984.
The development group is a tax-exempt charitable organization and, according to tax records, Ostroski did not collect a salary from that organization. The development group finished the 2020 fiscal year $167,000 in the red.
Ostroski has also served as the executive director of the Southern Iowa Council of Governments’ Housing Trust Fund, which is organized as a charitable foundation. Tax records indicate Ostroski did not collect a salary from that organization.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
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