Ohio
Latest Coverage
See all articles
staffer pleads guilty to stealing over $22k from congresswoman
Hruska spent years in Kaptur’s office, working her way up until leaving the office in 2022 to work for the Department of Agriculture, according to court filings. Kaptur “provided and entrusted the defendant with Victim’s personal credit card and bank account information” and authorized her to “make specific purchases” as part of her position, documents said, a freedom which Hruska admitted in a plea deal to abusing for her personal benefit.
Between Aug. 19, 2023, and July 30, 2024, Hruska used Kaptur’s bank account information to pay off her card bills on 10 separate occasions, according to the Justice Department.
TRUMP TARIFFS THREAT GOP 2026 ELECTION CHANCES
“Because more than a year had lapsed between Hruska’s first fraudulent transaction and the member’s discovery of the theft, the member recovered less than 9% of the stolen funds in fraud compensation,” the DOJ said.
Prosecutors said Hruska stole at least $22,865.07. The former aide must pay the entire amount stolen, surrender her passport, and refrain from possessing a gun, destructive device, or other weapon, in accordance with her plea deal.