Dubuque County seeks jury trial, submits counter claim in lawsuit over missing Dyersville funds

Dubuque County is seeking a jury trial in a lawsuit brought by the city of Dyersville over the loss of more than $524,000 that county officials meant for Dyersville but that was intercepted by a third party. The lawsuit, filed Nov. 7 in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County, claims Dubuque County breached its duty to “exercise reasonable care in its issuance of payments to Dyersville” when staff failed to verify the transfer of $524,283.88 in American Rescue Plan Act funds in November 2023. In a court filing last week, the county’s attorneys demand a jury trial in the case and submitted a counter claim stating that the misappropriation of the funds was due to “Dyersville’s failure to secure its own email system.” Court documents state, “Because the fraudulent request (for the funds) originated from Dyersville’s allegedly compromised system and was not distinguishable from legitimate communications, (Dubuque County) had no reason to suspect fraud.”