Former City of Wheeling employee sentenced for wire fraud

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Teresa D. Hudrlik, of Valley Grove, West Virginia, was sentenced today to six months incarceration for committing wire fraud while employed by the City of Wheeling, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Hudrlik, age 48, pled guilty to one count of “Wire Fraud” in October 2018. Hudrlik was the Human Resources Director for the City of Wheeling from April 2016 to March 2018. During her tenure with the City of Wheeling, she admitted to using a city-issued purchasing card to make personal purchases, without authorization. Hudrlik also admitted to altering receipts and documentation to disguise said purchases, giving herself payroll bonuses without authorization, and causing unauthorized payroll payments in the names of other city employees to be deposited into personal banking accounts Hudrlik controlled. The crimes occurred from June 2016 to March 2018 in Ohio County.

“We must hold our public employees to a high standard, expecting them to operate as hardworking and honest public servants.  The vast majority meet or exceed those expectations.  Ms. Hudrlik violated the sacred public trust, and was prosecuted and sentenced for that violation, in accordance with the rule of law.  We commend the City of Wheeling and its cooperation in this matter,” said Powell.

The judge ordered Hudrlik to pay restitution to the City of Wheeling in the amount of $80,000 and a money judgement in the amount of $50,000. Hudrlik was also ordered to serve three years supervised release following her incarceration.

“The City of Wheeling employees are required to hold the public trust in a very sacred manner and senior members of the City’s management, being administrators, are held to an even higher standard and higher level of expectations of honesty. As public employees, we are required to operate municipal governments in a fair and fiducially prudent manner concerning the public funds. This employee violated all such levels of trust. The City of Wheeling believes that this former employee should be punished for her conduct and trusts that the Court considered an appropriate prison sentence along with restitution to the City of Wheeling,” said Robert Herron, City Manager, the City of Wheeling

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod J. Douglas prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.