Former Woodsfield Utility Office Supervisor Ordered to Pay Restitution Totaling $15,822.45 after Guilty Plea to Theft in Office

Press Release • Ohio Auditor of State

COLUMBUS - A former utility office supervisor for the Village of Woodsfield in Monroe County was placed on community control for three years and ordered to pay restitution and additional costs of nearly $16,000 after an investigation determined she used her position to write off balances due on her personal utility accounts and late fees she owed.

Claudia Baker could face 18 months in prison if she violates the terms of her community control, under the sentence handed down in Monroe County Common Pleas Court.

The Auditor of State's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) launched an investigation after auditors discovered Baker was delinquent in her personal utility payments but had not been assessed late fees or had her account disconnected.

Investigators determined Baker closed two of her personal utility accounts with delinquent balances, fraudulently wrote off balances that were due, blocked late fee assessments, and made other unauthorized adjustments.

Baker was indicted in the case in November 2025 and pleaded guilty to a single felony count of theft in office in April 2026.

Her sentence included orders to pay restitution of $8,638.90 and special audit and community control sanctions totaling $7,183.55. She is also barred from serving in public office.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 162 convictions resulting in more than $17.7 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictions since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU's fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

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The Auditor of State's Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.