Former Glen Dale City Clerk Jane Criswell pleaded not guilty Monday morning to felony charges for embezzlement and falsifying records at an initial appearance.

According to the criminal complaint, Criswell allegedly made out $50,000 in checks to herself and her personal business, used city dollars for trips and groceries and lied to city councilors about her management of the city’s $605,552.11 in federal COVID stimulus funds.

Criswell appeared before Marshall County Magistrate Zachary Allman Monday morning, which was closed to the media. Criswell’s bail was set at $5,000.

According to a criminal complaint, city payment transactions under Criswell were alleged to be “disorganized and not properly documented” and there were ample indications of fraud and a mixing of Criswell’s personal finances and those of the city.

Glen Dale mayor Janet Scott initiated an investigation into Criswell in December 2022 when Scott found suspicious activity and disarray in the city’s books upon taking office.

According to the complaint, filed Jan. 9, Criswell, who had been fired from her position in September of 2022, had been allegedly mismanaging funds for over a decade.

During Criswell’s time as city clerk, city employees temporarily lost insurance coverage due to missed payments, according to the complaint. The city also allegedly owed money to the treasurer’s office because Criswell failed to pay court fees from citations and city-owned property had liens.

From 2010 to 2019, Criswell also allegedly made regular checks out to her company “Riverside Bookkeeping” with funds from the Sanitation Board and the Water Board of Glen Dale. These payments, totaling $44,500 and labeled “PSC Reports,” were not approved or authorized, according to the complaint.

In 2021, records show Criswell also allegedly received payments in addition to her salary for a fraudulent “Water PSC Annual Report” and a “Sewer Annual Report” totaling $5,500. In July of 2021, the city received a $302,535.21 check in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which the city council voted to move into a separate account with Main Street Bank while they determined how they would use it.

Criswell delivered a $302,535.21 Truist check to the bank in October 2021, which Criswell allegedly asked the bank to hold, assuring them that she would be back to open the account. Criswell reportedly made excuses each time the bank contacted her about opening the account.

In reports to the city council, Criswell said that the money had been deposited into an “ARPA Fund” account, which did not exist at the time.

Criswell then claimed that she deposited a second June 2022 ARPA check of $303,016.79 into the account, bringing the total balance of ARPA funds to $605,552.11. However the account was not created and the initial check not deposited until May of 2022. The second check was not deposited until August 2022.

“This was done with intent to conceal the true state of the city’s financial accounts,” the complaint reads.

Criswell also reportedly used the city’s Sam’s Club account to purchase several airline tickets. On these trips, she used city funds to pay for hotels and restaurant bills. The Sam’s Club account had not been approved by the city council. Criswell was believed to be the only person on the account.

Pallets of food from Sam’s Club would reportedly be delivered to Criswell’s personal residence, which she explained was because there was no other storage available for it.

A preliminary hearing for the case will be scheduled in the next 20 days.