Kanawha County Magistrate Julie Yeager abruptly resigned Thursday amid allegations she embezzled thousands of dollars from an organization aimed at improving the state's magistrate court system.
State Supreme Court Administrator Gary Johnson filed a complaint Wednesday accusing Yeager of stealing at least $14,000 from the West Virginia Magistrate Association, for which she served as treasurer.
The court was to consider a report about the allegations from Judicial Disciplinary Counsel Teresa Tarr but Yeager instead voluntarily resigned, effective immediately, according to the Supreme Court.
"Having maturely considered the report pursuant to Rule 2.14(c) of the Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Procedure, the Court is of the opinion that there is probable cause to believe [Yeager] has engaged or is currently engaging in serious violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct," the court wrote in an order Thursday.
Had she not resigned, the court would have suspended her without pay and prohibited her from judicial functions during the investigation, it wrote.
The magistrate court association is a due-paying organization for the state's 158 magistrates, the report says. Its annual dues total $7,900, paid by the Supreme Court, the report says. Yeager had been the treasurer of the organization since 2010, the report said. Yeager reportedly repaid the money, depositing it Wednesday at a bank in Dunbar as she had agreed, according to the report.
Tarr, who is investigating the allegations, wrote that while the investigation is ongoing, "[Tarr] believes that the evidence uncovered thus far strongly suggests that there is probable cause to believe Respondent violated" rules. Tarr wrote that she believes Yeager's conduct equates to felony embezzlement under West Virginia law.
Yeager was first elected a Kanawha County magistrate in November 2004, took office in January 2005, and has served continuously since then, according to the report. She had not been the subject of judicial discipline before now, the report says.
Yeager had been in charge of the Kanawha County Domestic Violence Court, which was disbanded earlier this year by order of the Supreme Court after it received complaints about the program. The court had been put in place more than five years ago as a way to monitor domestic violence cases more closely.
Yeager did not immediately return a call seeking comment.