Former Auditor from State Comptroller’s Office Pled Guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree as a Public Corruption Crime for stealing over $405,000 from the Town of Wallkill
Investigation Revealed no Misconduct by Town Officials
Orange County District Attorney Hoovler Tobias Otieno, 41, of Hyde Park, pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, as a Public Corruption Crime, a class B felony. The plea was in connection with the theft of $405,843 from the Town of Wallkill. Pursuant to the plea agreement placed on the record at the time that Otieno pled guilty, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that he be sentenced to four (4) to twelve (12) years in prison when he is sentenced on June 1, 2026.
At the time that he pled guilty, Otieno admitted that between June 23, 2022, and September 1, 2024, he was employed as an Auditor 1 for the New York State Office of the State Comptroller and was assigned to perform an audit of the Town of Wallkill. Otieno’s audit duties included analysis of financial operations, payroll, procurements, and non-payroll disbursements. Otieno was provided access to Town of Wallkill bank accounts and various financial documents during the audit and through the use of his public office he stole approximately $405,843.25 United States currency belonging to the Town of Wallkill by transferring funds from Town of Wallkill bank accounts to his personal business accounts.
The case was jointly investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, under the auspices of the Orange County White Collar Crimes Task Force. The New York State Office of the State Comptroller fully cooperated and assisted in the investigation, including by providing forensic auditors who were able to analyze bank records and other business records which traced the source and disposition of the stolen funds. On July 10, 2025, police officers of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County District Attorney’s Office, aided by investigators of the State Comptroller’s Office executed a search warrant at Otieno’s Hyde Park residence.
The investigation revealed no misconduct by any officials or employees of the Town of Wallkill. Town officials promptly reported the fraud to the Town’s financial institution and the bank reimbursed the Town. The Town of Wallkill Police Department was alerted to the allegations, made sure that other competent law enforcement agencies were investigating the allegations, but to avoid any appearance of impropriety, did not maintain an active role in the investigation. Otieno was immediately suspended by the Comptroller’s office upon discovery of potential misconduct and subsequently terminated from employment.
The Orange County Joint White Collar Crimes Task Force was created by District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Sheriff Paul Arteta in March 2023. Since the creation of the Task Force other local and state law enforcement agencies have joined. Local police agencies that joined include the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the Village of Goshen Police Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, the Town of Crawford Police Department, the Town of Wallkill Police Department, the Town of Woodbury Police Department, and the Town of Warwick Police Department. The Task Force allows agencies to share investigative resources on white collar and other complex criminal investigations. An experienced Assistant District Attorney is assigned to aid in all investigations as they progress.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked all of the law enforcement agencies who worked together to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into this theft of public funds. District Attorney Hoovler specifically thanked the New York State Comptroller’s Office for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.
“The use of a governmental position to steal public monies is a most serious offense that warrants severe punishment,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “I thank the Town of Wallkill officials for their assistance in this investigation. Municipalities undergoing audits by any outside agencies, whether public or private, should have ongoing communications with auditors, including familiarizing themselves with audit procedures; however, the constant monitoring and reconciling of accounts is the surest way to safeguard public funds. I am grateful for the work of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigators, District Attorney Office investigators and all members of the Orange County White Collar Crimes Task Force who work every day to protect the integrity of public funds and investigate and prosecute complex financial crimes. I thank the Office of the State Comptroller for the work of its investigators and forensic auditors who aided in this investigation.”
“This individual betrayed the public trust and will now pay for it. When his wrongdoing was identified, we immediately partnered with District Attorney Hoovler and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to work jointly to expose his actions and quickly moved to terminate his employment,” said State Comptroller DiNapoli. “I thank District Attorney Hoovler and Sheriff Arteta for their exceptional work in securing this conviction.”
The case is being prosecuted by Supervising Assistant District Attorney Tanja Beemer.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
