Dubuque County Investigates as County Funds Appear to Have Been Stolen

Dubuque County officials said Monday that they are investigating what they believe to be the theft of $524,284 in federal dollars the county allotted to a city of Dyersville project, the payment of which was intercepted. County officials announced the missing funds after a closed-session meeting of the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors on Monday but shared little else due to the investigation still being open. The funds, which come from the county’s federal American Rescue Plan Act allotment, recently were transferred by Dubuque County to the city of Dyersville but never arrived. The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department and county Auditor’s Office learned of the missing funds when Dyersville officials asked for the status of the transfer after the county already had made it. A press release from County Auditor Kevin Dragotto issued Monday afternoon states that an internal review determined that the city of Dyersville’s email system “had been compromised.”