Former Elko County accountant sentenced for theft | Crime and Courts

Sara E. Steninger, 32, was also ordered to pay more than $67,000 in restitution to the county. She was arrested in December after investigators accused her of diverting payments to her personal bank account over the past three years.

Steninger, also known as Sara Benoit, was employed by the county in 2013 and was working as an accountant when the thefts occurred. She was originally arrested on eight counts of theft and four counts of misconduct by a public official, but pleaded guilty to one count of theft.

The investigation began in November 2020 after the Elko County Treasurer’s Office processed an electronic funds transfer in the amount of $23,331 to a company that sells drones. A bank fraud prevention team contacted the treasurer on the following day, and the fund transfer to Steninger’s account was recalled.

She was placed on administrative leave two weeks later. According to a document filed with the criminal complaint, she admitted filing the fund transfer and submitted her resignation on Dec. 7. The Nevada Investigation Division was called in two days later at the request of District Attorney Tyler Ingram.

A forensic audit determined that Steninger began depositing checks from various vendors into her personal account in June 2018. A total of $51,386 was diverted from that time through March 2020. The 11 transfers included payments from law firms, a paper supply company and NV Energy.

The $23,331 fund transfer for the drone purchase was made eight months later.

Steninger was one of seven finalists named in October 2020 to replace the retiring county manager.

She was sentenced July 11 by Elko District Judge Kriston Hill to serve up to 10 years in prison, suspended with probation for the next three years. The sentence also requires her to pay $67,661 in restitution, with $35,000 of that due this week.