GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The former assistant director of Brown County’s Veterans Service Office allegedly used county funds for personal use, and allegedly altered records to make it look like county funds were being used to cover a veteran’s power bill, a criminal complaint states.
Matthew Franklin, 48, is charged with seven counts: theft in a business setting, misconduct in office, four counts of forgery, and one count of misappropriating identifying information.
A Dec. 2 initial appearance is scheduled.
According to the criminal complaint, Franklin worked in the Veterans Service Office since 2016, and was the interim director when the investigation began. However, the county said Monday his title was assistant veterans service officer, not interim director.
The first suspicious transaction using a county purchase card was in September 2024, when he rented a car using the county’s card. He claimed the rental car company inadvertently charged the county instead of his personal account, but the company disputed that account. The funds were eventually repaid.
Franklin allegedly used the county card to make five utility payments to Wisconsin Public Service. He admitted to altering records so the county would not know the transactions took place.
Franklin also admitted to creating a fake Wisconsin Public Service bill in someone else’s name. He created that document to make it look like he used his “purchase” card to pay a veteran’s power bill. Franklin made the fake Wisconsin Public Service bill in the veteran’s name and with their address. The fake document looked like an official Wisconsin Public Service bill and had all the normal markings and headers for their kind of bill. Franklin admitted to making this document and sending it into Brown County as verification for the transaction made on his Brown County issued “purchase” card. Franklin used this person’s name without their permission and that person did not know Franklin used their name,” the complaint states.
Franklin’s last day of employment with the county was July 15, 2025.
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