Butler County clerk employee accused of $3K in postage theft

Customers stand inside the Butler County Clerk of Courts title office in the Government Services Center NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Customers stand inside the Butler County Clerk of Courts title office in the Government Services Center NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

A former Butler County Clerk of Courts employee is accused of stealing about $3,000 in postage.

Clerk of Courts Mary Swain said her office discovered on Thursday that a staff member was possibly using a postage machine to print postage and then obtain a refund from the post office.

Justin Kornhaus of West Chester allegedly admitted his involvement in the fraudulent transactions. Kornhaus allegedly printed postage and received a money order refund from the post office on about 10 occasions beginning in February of 2017.

Kornhaus printed postage and then received a refund in the form of a money order from the post office. The stolen postage was estimated at $3,000.

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The Butler County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor Mike Gmoser are working to identify the appropriate criminal charges, and charges will likely be filed against Kornhaus in the coming days, officials said.

Kornhaus resigned immediately.

“You place trust in the men and women you work with, and it saddens me that Mr. Kornhaus committed these acts and broke that trust,” Swain said. “When we discovered the theft, we immediately reported it and I’m grateful for the swift actions taken by the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s office.”

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