State Auditor Who Stole $400,000 From Orange County Town Gets 4 to 12 Years in Prison

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—A state auditor was sentenced by the Orange County Superior Court to four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $400,000 from the town of Wallkill, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced on Aug. 18.

Tobias Otieno, 42, of Hyde Park in Dutchess County, was working for the New York State Comptroller’s Office as one of three auditors sent to check Wallkill’s finances. He admitted to using sensitive financial information and the stolen signature of then-Town Supervisor George Serrano between June 23, 2022, and Sept. 1, 2024, to transfer $405,843 from Wallkill bank accounts to his personal businesses.

The auditor pleaded guilty in February to grand larceny in the second degree as a public corruption crime, and the money he stole was fully restored to the town.

As an auditor for the comptroller’s office, Otieno’s duties covered analysis of financial operations, payroll, procurements, and nonpayroll disbursements. These areas gave him access to town bank accounts and financial documents.

An investigation was launched in April 2024 after the town noticed the missing money. The banks, law enforcement, and the state were contacted, and the money was retrieved. The investigation into the missing money found no wrongdoing on the part of the town of Wallkill.

Otieno was suspended by the comptroller’s office when the potential misconduct was found and was later fired.

A search warrant of Otieno’s Hyde Park residence was executed on July 10, 2025, by officers of the county’s sheriff’s office and Orange County District Attorney’s Office, as well as investigators of the comptroller’s office.

The comptroller’s office assisted the investigations with forensic auditors who analyzed bank records and traced the stolen funds, and the overall investigation was overseen by the Orange County White Collar Crime Task Force.

Hoovler thanked all law enforcement agencies, especially the comptroller’s office, for their roles in the investigation.

The case prompted Wallkill to use more Positive Pay, a cash-management system offered by banks to prevent fraud.

“While the town continues on the path to root out all of the misgivings of the financial debacle left behind by years of mismanagement, it is pleased that this chapter can come to a close,” Wallkill Town Supervisor Frank DenDanto told The Epoch Times on Aug. 19. “For our part, we will stay vigilant and press forward to close whatever remaining gaps still exist and fully reconcile the town finances.”

Hoovler issued a statement saying, “This defendant’s admitted conduct was a self-serving crime that subverted the trust placed in him by way of his employment.”

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli added: “This sentence ensures that Tobias Otieno will pay for his crimes and his betrayal of the responsibilities entrusted to him.”