APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – Steven Jahnke, a former board member with the Hearthstone Historic House in Appleton, has officially been charged with a felony after he allegedly misappropriated a “substantial amount of money” during his time on the board.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Local 5, Jahnke, 67, was initially investigated in May 2025 after authorities got multiple complaints from board members of Friends of Hearthstone, Inc., alleging suspicious spending from the account. The account was controlled and overseen by Jahnke, the board treasurer.
Authorities say the ‘questionable spending’ happened over several years between January 2019 and March 2025 and allegedly included cruises, vacation travel, vehicle repairs, and personal purchases from Amazon and Menards. The spending totaled roughly $69,000.
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The criminal complaint alleges that Jahnke had sole access to the Hearthstone Historic Houses’ financial records and accounts.
Jahnke was reportedly laid off due to “lack of funds” around June of 2025.
According to Hearthstone’s Development/Marketing Director, in late 2024, grant funds deposited through the Community Foundation, including $25,000, $20,000, and a window restoration grant with $27,000 remaining, were depleted before their restricted purposes, and that $80,000 was withdrawn from the museum’s endowment around that time.
Some of Jahnke’s ‘personal’ purchases included dog food, household supplies, decorations, and plants from Menards, and over $1,300 towards a 12-day Australia and New Zealand cruise.
Authorities noted that suspicious spending in 2023 and 2024 totaled $70,792.32.
Details of Jahnke’s suspicious purchases, according to the criminal complaint:
- Matthews Tire, May 2023
- $1,255.47
- Property taxes, September 2023
- $1,018.70
- Carnival-branded credit card, July 2023 – March 2025
- $20,700 in total
- Menards, August 2021 – July 2025
- $15,929.99
- 532 Amazon purchases, 2019 – 2024
- $28,720.21
- Norwegian Cruise Line, November 2023
- $1,385.63
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The criminal complaint alleges that Jahnke “lacked authorization” for all the above-mentioned purchases and that Jahnke “rarely delivered items to the museum despite the volume of purchases.”
During an interview on November 7, by investigators, Jahnke stated he was responsible for deposits and paying bills, and at times, “confused his personal cards with the museum’s card.” He noted that he reimbursed the museum in such cases, but reportedly did not provide specific examples.
Jahnke also alleged that he fell behind on the Carnival-branded credit card and switched payments to the Hearthstone FCCU account. Jahnke allegedly further admitted, “I did embezzle funds to pay for my own expenses,” while reiterating that he planned to pay it all back.
Based on the investigation, investigators estimated that roughly $69,000 in withdrawals were made by Jahnke between 2019 and 2025 without authorization from the board or executive director.
Court records show that Jahnke is scheduled for his initial court appearance on March 17 at 1 p.m.
