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, District Attorney David Hoovler announced 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. …