WHITE CASTLE — A former White Castle town clerk deposited more than $19,000 in local government money into her own personal accounts, an audit released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office says. 

According to the independent audit, the fraud began sometime in 2024 and continued into 2025. The town clerk, Monica Lee, was subsequently fired and arrested after the $19,671 fraud was uncovered in May 2025. A new clerk has since been hired.

The funds that were transferred to Lee's account included town revenue checks from video poker revenue and franchise fee revenue. Lee allegedly initiated unauthorized ACH payments from the Town’s general fund bank accounts to pay personal expenses. 

Lee's job, the audit says, involved receiving checks, recording transactions, preparing deposits, initiating ACH payments and performing bank reconciliations. 

According to the audit, Lee was able to steal the money by "overriding established controls and/or controls not being utilized uniformly."

"We recommend the Town reassess and strengthen its internal control structure, with a focus on preventing and detecting management override. While controls may be in place, additional oversight may be needed to ensure controls cannot be circumvented," the audit reads.

The theft and Lee's arrest are still pending court proceedings. 

At the time of the auditor’s report, restitution had not been determined and White Castle had not yet determined whether an insurance claim would be filed.