Probation for Mitchell County employee accused of misconduct in office

OSAGE — It’s probation for an employee of the Mitchell County Treasurer’s Office who was accused of falsifying a motor vehicle title record in an attempt to avoid paying taxes on a vehicle.

54-year-old Sandra Wagner was accused in a criminal complaint filed by the Iowa Department of Transportation of purchasing a vehicle, and while she was training an employee how to issue motor vehicle titles, she manipulated the employee to unknowingly transfer the ownership so she could receive an Iowa title for the sole benefit of evading taxation. The complaint said Wagner knew by her role as a public employee that she was evading taxation and received a title by a deceptive act.

Wagner was originally charged with one count of felonious misconduct in office, a Class D felony, but as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty to one count of non-felonious misconduct in office, a serious misdemeanor.

District Associate Judge Elizabeth Batey recently sentenced Wagner to one year probation and imposed a civil penalty of $430.