Title company owner arraigned on theft charges

He is charged with theft and obstruction of justice regarding $325,000 his Home Abstract and Title Co. held for the Weber School District after the sale of district property to the city of Huntsville

The missing, measly $325,000 that we mentioned a couple of weeks ago in our story

$325,000 payment from Huntsville City to Weber School District missing

has resulted in theft and obstruction of justice charges against Russell Charles Maughan.

Our readers will remember that many months after the property transfer of the former Valley School site from the Weber School District to the Town of Huntsville, the school district realized they had not received their cash.

Ogden police investigated when the school district never received the proceeds from the sale, Deputy Weber County Attorney Branden Miles said. The allegations are that Maughan misappropriated the money for his business and personal use.

“He moved the money to an operating account and made use of it over a matter of months,” Miles said

Maughan’s Home Abstract and Title is a 104-year-old company housed in the Weber Building at 2380 Washington Blvd., Suite 200.

The business, next door to the Weber County Attorney’s Office, was closed about a month ago by its underwriter, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, based in Minneapolis, said Tammy Greening, an examiner for the Utah Insurance Department, which is also investigating Maughan.

She said Old Republic officials notified the Utah Insurance Department, sparking the state investigation.

$325,000 is a pittance compared to the $65 million bond the district is seeking. Surely the district will manage the $65 million wisely. No?