The Burt County Attorney’s Offi ce has charged Kristie Jensen with theft by deception stemming from her actions while she served as Craig Village Clerk. Since the amount of the theft is pegged at over $5,000, the charge is being prosecuted as a Class 2A felony. The maximum penalty for the charge is 20 years in prison. There is no minimum sentence. According to Village Attorney Matt Munderloh, if Jensen is found guilty the court can order her to pay restitution. According to the probable cause affi davit fi led in support of an arrest warrant Jensen used checks from village accounts to pay for personal expenses. Among them are four checks written to Visa that totaled $17,773.62. Court records also show three checks written to Home Depot totaling $7,008.84. Investigators say there are more and only supplied those seven. According to the affi davit, a state auditor highlighted 22 checks cashed for personal expenses totaling $32,944.08. Jensen also faces charges of abuse of public records and offi cial misconduct. Both are Class 2 misdemeanors and stem from her alleged alteration of village bank statements and reporting them to the village board and state auditors. Following her Thursday arrest, Jensen was released on a $2,000 cash bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned May 22 in Burt County Court. Her Thursday arrest followed her fi ring April 12 by the Craig Village Board. During its regular meeting, the board met in closed session for nearly an hour with Village Attorney Matt Munderloh before rendering its decision. Jensen was not present at the meeting. According to Munderloh, the fi ring was based on the preliminary fi ndings of a state audit. He said a tip to the state auditor’s offi ce led to an investigation. Munderloh told the Plaindealer the auditors told him that when Jensen would not comply with their requests, the investigation grew. Munderloh said the preliminary fi ndings indicated embezzlement but the extent of the allegation is not yet known. Reports from the audit were turned over to the county sheriff ’s offi ce. She was arrested late Thursday. Board chairman Duane Hinman directed questions in the matter to Munderloh. Jensen could not be reached for comment. She has retained an attorney. The board began advertising for a replacement April 13.