Northland court administrator charged with felony theft

Tom Olsen — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 22:29:02 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS — The former court administrator for two Northland counties is accused of stealing funds from a school band.

Heather Jan Porterfield, 51, of Nashwauk Township, was charged in January with two felony counts of theft.

Court documents allege several financial discrepancies totaling nearly $10,000 while she was managing a fundraising account for the Nashwauk-Keewatin Band.

Porterfield, according to documents, told investigators that she was reimbursing herself for expenses she paid out of pocket. She stated she made a “grave mistake” by not keeping track of her spending and “didn’t do anything with malice or ill intent.”

Porterfield at the time was serving in a leadership role for the 9th Judicial District, overseeing administrative operations and supervising staff in Itasca and Koochiching counties.

A Minnesota Judicial Branch spokesperson confirmed Porterfield’s employment ended Jan. 22, a day after the case was filed. She had worked for the state court system for 21 years.

The case was referred to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office to investigate, and County Attorney Ben Lindstrom was appointed as special prosecutor in place of Itasca County authorities.

The Minnesota Supreme Court, likewise, stepped in to assign the case to Chief Judge Michael Fritz of the 7th Judicial District in Becker County.

According to a criminal complaint:

Porterfield managed the account, which is used for purchasing band supplies and travel expenses, for approximately 10 years until she was asked to step down in fall 2023. Others involved in fundraising discovered the suspicious transactions and contacted law enforcement last October.

Porterfield “almost exclusively” handled the account between 2019 and 2023. Investigators were provided a text message exchange in which she claimed to have mistaken the band’s debit card for her own, writing: “I had used the band card inadvertently and taken cash out on two occasions. ... I’m so sorry.''

Investigators reviewed bank records showing large ATM withdrawals outside normal business hours — such as $1,800 taken over four consecutive days in February 2022. That could not be explained by other volunteers, nor could various cash deposits into the account over time.

Additionally, a fundraising event in June 2023 netted $11,515 in donations, as recorded by another member. But bank records showed only $10,265 was deposited into the account — a shortage of $1,250.

When investigators later obtained Porterfield’s personal bank records, they found a $1,150 cash deposit the same day.

Checks written to an optometrist and chiropractor, totaling $211 and both bearing Porterfield’s signature, also cleared the account.

Investigators noted a pattern of ATM withdrawals occurring after large deposits were made from fundraising events. The transactions were followed by “numerous cash deposits for which there did not appear to be a coinciding fundraiser or other source of income,” often in the first couple days of the month and around the third week of the month.

Porterfield’s personal bank records also showed many matching withdrawals and deposits, typically on the same or next day as the corresponding transactions in the band’s account.

Ultimately, there was found to be a $8,266 shortage between the funds that were withdrawn and returned in that manner.

Other fundraising leaders sent Porterfield multiple letters requesting clarification in early 2024. She wrote back that March saying she did not have “answers specifically,” but talking about her love for the band and students and indicating she would often pay for meals out of her personal funds.

She added that the organization was never a “lucrative money maker” and stated that she “recklessly” used the same PIN as her personal account and failed to keep good records.

“If you feel I owe the band something, please let me know,” she wrote in the letter response.

When an investigator met with Porterfield at her office in the Itasca County Courthouse in January, she claimed it was common to “front money” to the account and said she often paid for expenses herself so students had “equal opportunity.”

She confirmed she would withdraw funds from an ATM to reimburse herself, estimating she had spent $10,000 in personal funds over the years, but admitted she did not keep records.

Asked about the missing $1,250 from the fundraiser, Porterfield stated that her kitchen counter is “very unorganized” and surmised that her husband may have found the cash and placed it into their account. She did admit to writing the two checks.

“At one point, the defendant was asked if it would be reasonable to state that she took extra liberties when reimbursing herself,” the complaint states. “The defendant stated that it would be fair because she did not know the amount.”

Porterfield appeared in State District Court on Monday and remains free. Her next court appearance was set for May 5.

She is represented by Virginia attorney Karl Sundquist, who did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

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NASHWAUK-KEEWATIN SCHOOLS

Northland court administrator charged with felony theft