FORSYTH - The deputy treasurer in Rosebud County has been charged with a felony crime after authorities allege she stole more than $300,000.
Nancy Ann Beals has been charged in Rosebud County District Court with felony theft of property by embezzlement. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
According to charging documents, Rosebud County Treasurer Kathy Fahrenbruck first noticed discrepancies in an oil and gas royalties account handled by Beals in September 2024. A similar discrepancy was discovered in another county account, and Beals' explanation "did not make sense," court records state.
When asked by another county official about the discrepancies, Beals allegedly blurted out, "I did it," and confessed to taking money but said she intended to pay it back. Beals said she did not know how much money she had taken, but in a later interview with the county sheriff said she had taken the money to help her adult children. At that time, Beals estimated she had taken about $27,000, according to court records.
The county hired an accounting firm which determined from the result of two audits that Beals had embezzled nearly $309,000 over a two-year period.
