DYERSVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – The city of Dyersville has filed a lawsuit against Dubuque County after failing to receive $524,293.88 in American Rescue Plan Act funds owed to the city for the Field of Dreams project.

In December of last year, the city of Dyersville was supposed to receive the money for renovations at Field of Dreams, but the funds were fraudulently directed to a third party.

Dyersville and Dubuque County signed the agreement in December 2022.

However, scammers hacked into the city of Dyersville’s email and sent emails to Dubuque County, posing as a Dyersville city clerk requesting the funds.

TV9 reached out to Dubuque County Auditor Kevin Dragotto to comment in August. He said the office had no reason to question the payment and alerted authorities as soon as they learned of the fraud.

However, the lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Dubuque County took no steps to contact anyone in Dyersville to confirm the funds transfer request, nor did it verify which account the funds were going to.

The investigation into the stolen funds began in February. Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy said the investigation is still active and includes the FBI.

Sheriff Kennedy has said the money was transferred to cryptocurrency, meaning it would likely be impossible to recover the funds.

The Iowa Communities Assurance Pool denied coverage of the moneysaying that because the County actively sent the money to the wrong account, it does not meet coverage for hacking or fraudulent act.

Dyersville city leaders say Dubuque County still owes the money. They are filing a lawsuit for breach of contract.

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