BUFFALO, N.Y. — A former Erie County Deputy Clerk has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $320,000 from taxpayer funds.
Alexander McDougall, 55, pleaded guilty to felony counts of grand larceny and offering a false instrument for the theft.
“Instead of safeguarding public money, Alexander McDougall abused his authority, diverting taxpayer funds meant to benefit Erie County for his own use,” New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. “Thanks to my partnership with Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia and Erie County Comptroller Kevin R. Hardwick, he is being held accountable for his crimes.”
“I am pleased to announce that this defendant has pleaded guilty to the highest sustainable charge. For more than two years, he used his position in the Clerk’s Office to steal a significant sum of money from the residents of Erie County. In addition to uncovering this brazen theft, I want to commend the Erie County Comptroller’s Office as well as our partners in the New York State Comptroller’s Office and Erie County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case. I also commend the Erie County Clerk’s Office for their full cooperation in this investigation. While uncovering financial crimes can be an extensive and time-consuming process, I want the public to know that we are committed to obtaining justice and restoring their trust in government by prosecuting the offenders and seeking full restitution," said Keane.
The theft was discovered after an internal audit of the Erie County Clerk's Registrar's Office by the Erie County Comptroller's Office. That investigation was forwarded to the New York State Comptroller's Officer requesting a forensic audit for the period of January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023. The audit was expanded to when McDougall started working for the clerk's office on January 1, 2019.
The investigation found the money was being collected, but never deposited. The money was found to have been deposited in McDougall's personal bank account on days that the cash was collected at the Clerk's office, but not deposited.
When McDougal was charged back in March, then-Erie County District Attorney John Flynn stated that McDougall was "not a hardened criminal" and allegedly used the funds to pay for daily expenses for his special needs child and disabled wife.
McDougall is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 25.
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