VAN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. — A former Village of Decatur manager has been arrested and charged with stealing taxpayer dollars, a spokesperson with Michigan State Police said Monday.
Christopher Tapper, 46, of Decatur, was arraigned earlier Tuesday in the 7th District Court in Van Buren County on one count of Larceny by False Pretenses — $20,000 to $50,000 following an investigation into allegations of larceny by false pretense, according to a news release.
“After discrepancies were discovered regarding tuition reimbursement documentation submitted by Tapper, the Village initiated a review and referred the matter to law enforcement,” said Jessica Pelfrey, the Village of Decatur president in a news release later Tuesday.
Pelfrey said an investigation determined Tapper received approximately $42,000 in tuition reimbursements over five years based on allegedly falsified documentation and the prosecutor’s office authorized that felony charge.
“The Village takes its responsibility to safeguard taxpayer dollars seriously. We will pursue every appropriate avenue available to recover any taxpayer funds that have been improperly obtained. We are taking steps to strengthen safeguards so incidents like this don’t happen in the future,” Pelfrey said.
She deferred all further questions to the Van Buren County Prosecutor’s Office.
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