If I said that to like... um... anyone who cared about me, they'd probably fall all over themselves to warn me that I was falling for an extremely well known scam.  You get an e-mail from some nice person in Nigeria who says that he has millions in the bank, but he can't get at it due to government corruption and fees.  If you will help him pay the fees and bribes so that he can get the money out, he in turn will pay you back and give you a share of his fortune.  You transfer the money and Mbutu Ndunga disappears and never contacts you again, except to ask for more money.

It's sad when people (typically elderly people) fall for such a scam.  It's even sadder when they invest other people's money in these scams.  It's even sadder when they are a county treasurer that embezzles taxpayer money in an attempt to cash in on the big Nigerian payout that never comes.

Hard to believe a county treasurer, a person who handles money for a living, would fall for such a scam, particularly after being warned by a bank that what he was investing in is a commonly-known scam.

But that is exactly what happened to Thomas Katona, former County Treasurer for Alcona County, Michigan.  Katona definitely embezzled and invested at least $186,500 in this scam, but Alcona's yearly budget is $4 million, and an audit has revealed that the county has a shortage of $1.2 million.  Katona also apparently kicked $72,000 of his own money into this scam.  Guess it's going to be a public defender for Mr. Katona.  He has been arrested and charged with 8 counts of embezzlement, 1 count of attempted embezzlement, and 2 counts of forgery.

I heard the story mentioned on NPR today.  I'm amazed that it happened at all.  But then, I'm amazed this man was elected as a treasurer in the first place, as Salem News notes:

...Alcona County voters re-elected Katona twice even after he pleaded guilty in 1998 of defrauding clients of his private accounting practice...
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