CHARLESTON – A special prosecutor has been named to investigate the allegations of embezzlement by former Kanawha Magistrate Julie Yeager.
Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Keller was appointed as special prosecutor in the investigation.
Yeager was accused in July of stealing money from the West Virginia Magistrate Association while she was serving as the treasurer.
On Aug. 22, Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey ruled that a special prosecutor should be over the case, after deciding that Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Miller could not be involved.
Yeager abruptly resigned in July after a complaint was filed alleging she embezzled from the WVMA.
State Supreme Court Administrator Gary Johnson filed a complaint accusing Yeager of stealing at least $14,000 from the WVMA. Yeager resigned the following day.
Yeager has not been criminally charged.
Yeager had been a Kanawha magistrate since 2004 and had not been the subject of judicial discipline before now, according to a report from the Judicial Disciplinary Counsel.
Angela Perdue was appointed to Yeager’s seat and will serve through 2018.