LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — A Pennsylvania man was convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars through a scheme to defraud the Lucas County Auditor's Office in 2020.
Darren Barr, 39, accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud during a court proceeding Tuesday.
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.
Barr is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 31.
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