LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Thursday on a federal charge for stealing more than $600,000 from the Lucas County Auditor's Office.
According to records from federal court, Darren Barr was sentenced to 57 months (four years and nine months) in prison. Barr was convicted in July of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after accepting a plea deal.
Barr was also ordered to pay $622,793.62 in restitution, a total amounting to that which he stole from the auditor's office. Barr was turned over to the US Marshal Service.
Barr was arraigned in January on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Laundering of Monetary Instruments and Illegal Monetary Transactions tied to crimes committed in 2020, according to court documents.
Barr created fake email accounts that looked like they belonged to different businesses and employees and would send emails to the Lucas County Auditor's Office requesting payment through invoices.
Payment from the auditor's office would then be transferred to multiple bank accounts that were created by Barr. He would then wire transfer the money to different accounts linked across the state of Ohio.
Prior to the plea agreement, Barr pleaded not guilty to all three of the original charges against him.
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