Wife of City of Coralville employee accused of using city-owned fuel cards for thousands of dollars in unauthorized purchases

Lang
11/22/24

The wife of a City of Coralville employee is accused of using city-owned fuel cards to make thousands of dollars in unauthorized purchases.

45-year-old Natalie Roberts of Middlebury Road in Iowa City was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 1:15 Thursday afternoon. Coralville Police say Roberts’ husband, who works for the City of Coralville, had access to fuel cards used for city-owned vehicles. Three such cards were reported missing to city staff. Those cards had unusually high fuel expenses, with the transactions being made at local Kum & Go stores…most of those in Iowa City.

A review of video from the Kum & Go stores in question allegedly showed Roberts and her husband making purchases of fuel for themselves and others, yet no City of Coralville vehicles were ever seen at the pumps or in the parking lots. The questionable purchases were made between July 1^st and October 10^th. Roberts’ husband was in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections between October 1^st and 10^th, and the footage from those dates reportedly only shows Roberts making the purchases. The total amount of purchases allegedly made by Roberts after October 1^st was $3,436.50.

Roberts is charged with Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card Between $1,500 and $10,000 and 2^nd Degree Theft. If convicted on both counts, she faces a maximum of ten years in prison.