EAST LIVERPOOL — Concerns that the city had become the victim of fraudulent activity through the purchase of cell phone merchandise were allayed Thursday following an investigation by the auditor’s office.

City Auditor Marilyn Bosco said Thursday her office had received a bill in February from Verizon for $377.63 in the name of former Service-Safety Director Benjamin Ryan Estell.

“We have accounts with Verizon, and it’s not unusual for bills to still come in his name,” Bosco said.

Her office uses spread sheets which allow her and deputy Auditor Melissa Faulkner to see which department a bill is for, but this one did not appear to belong to any existing department.

Since Estell is her cousin, Bosco said she had Faulkner check with different city departments to see if any had opened a new Verizon account unbeknownst to the auditor’s office, but none had.

During her investigation, Faulkner was able to determine the bill was for earbuds, which prompted Bosco to contact Verizon.

Meanwhile, during this investigatory phase, another bill was received from Verizon in Estell’s name, and Bosco contacted him about this matter.

A third bill arrived, along with a notice that the three bills — now totaling about $1,000 — were being sent for collection.

Estell also contacted Verizon since he had not made the purchases, according to Bosco.

“We told them we’re not paying this and neither is he,” Bosco said.

Wednesday, the company advised Bosco its investigation could not go any further unless she filed a police report, which she did, reporting that her office had found a discrepancy on a monthly statement with three bills for $378, $322 and $322, which had been reported to Verizon’s fraud division.

On Thursday, she learned from Verizon that the city’s federal ID number was not used to open the account but only the city address, along with Estell’s name, meaning the fraudulent action had been taken against him, not the city.

“Verizon told us the city has not been compromised in any way. So, Ryan has to file a police report,” Bosco said.

Bosco said Verizon has marked the situation as a fraud case and said the representative with whom she has been speaking, “said this happens every day.”

She has contacted the attorney general’s office to make sure the state is aware of the situation and that it is not the city being defrauded.

Since the fraud has been determined not to be against the city, Bosco said Verizon has refused to tell her where the merchandise was delivered.

“The only thing that makes sense is they got a bunch of them,” she said in regard to the high cost involved.

Bosco brought the situation to the newspaper’s attention, including the fact that Estell is her cousin, saying she wanted “full disclosure” to the public.

“My concern was the city,” Bosco said.