Former McCausland clerk charged with theft, forgery

Former McCausland City Clerk Sheila Bosworth faced 32 criminal counts under seven charges at the county courthouse Thursday morning, the day after a report from the State Auditor’s Office detailed her alleged theft of at least $63,233 in city funds.

Charges include first-degree theft, forgery, identity theft, and unauthorized use of a credit card.

Bail for Bosworth was set cash-only at $25,000. She cannot post bail with a bondsman.

She is set to appear before the court Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.

Bosworth was put on administrative leave from the city of McCausland in March. Blackhawk Bank and Trust notified Mayor Bill Gillespie that Bosworth had issued herself a series of checks from the city account.

According to the auditor’s report, Bosworth issued herself 26 unauthorized checks totaling $55,000 between Feb. 21 and March 17 of this year. The report states that Bosworth used the mayor’s e-signature, which she used to prepare city minutes, to sign the fraudulent checks.

According to the report, Bosworth told a detective with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office that she had been “working with an investor in Bitcoin.” She said she did not have access to the funds, which she had deposited into Bitcoin ATMs.

It was not immediately clear whether Bosworth had been scammed.

At a press conference Wednesday, State Auditor Rob Sand said that Bosworth had “attributed her misconduct to a failed cryptocurrency scheme.”

“That is what we know and can report today,” he said.

In addition to the theft of $55,000 late this winter, the auditor’s report alleges that Bosworth had made at least $8,233.44 in additional improper disbursements to herself, beginning in 2022 and accelerating in 2024. Those include:

• A $2,000 advance on her salary, made in February 2025 but not withdrawn from future paychecks.
• $4,800 in checks drawn on the city account and cashed by Bosworth between Jan. 1, 2024, and Nov. 22, 2024
• $1,343.50 in cash advances drawn on the city credit card, not identified by date.
• Two personal purchases made with the city credit card in 2022, totaling $89.94.

Bosworth’s full charges in Scott County are:

• Ongoing criminal conduct, one count. Class B felony.
• Nonfelonious misconduct in office, one count. Serious misdemeanor.
• Theft in the first degree, one count. Class C felony.
• Unauthorized use of a credit card under $1,500, one count. Aggravated misdemeanor.
• Identity theft under $1,500, one count. Aggravated misdemeanor.
• Identity theft over $10,000, one count. Class C felony.
• Forgery, 26 counts. Class D felony.