GALENA, Mo. — A former Stone County employee who was accused of stealing more than $13,000 in tax payments earlier this year has now been formally charged.

According to online court dockets, Whitney Marie Brown, born in 1998, of Galena, is charged with one count of stealing — $750 or more, a class D felony, in Stone County Circuit Court.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office accused Brown of the theft earlier this year in a Stone County audit report.

The probable cause statement says the investigation began after a taxpayer contacted the Stone County Collector’s Office in late February this year to report a discrepancy with her 2022 property taxes.

The taxpayer attempted to pay her 2023 taxes through the county’s website but saw that her 2022 taxes were listed as delinquent, even thou

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