State audits Taney County city

Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick's office is investigating a Taney County city over possible misappropriated funds.

The audit was requested by the city of Merriam Woods after officials discovered "discrepancies and misappropriation" with their bank accounts and credit cards, according to a news release from Fitzpatrick's office.

The possibility of misused city funds led to the termination of the municipality's former police chief. Media reports in June 2023 indicate that Nathan Lewis, the city's former police chief, was charged for alleged misappropriation of funds.

"Thankfully city officials were able to discover the potential fraud and act quickly to prevent additional taxpayer dollars from being misused," Fitzpatrick said in the release. "Now we will do our best to provide a complete picture to the city and the residents of Merriam Woods about what happened so they have the answers they deserve, and so they will have a roadmap for how to prevent something similar from happening in the future."

The audit officially began July 23.