A former longtime Cache County employee has been charged with felony communications fraud.
Utah County prosecutors say Terryl Warner, who worked as the director of Cache County Victim Services, falsified her credentials to avoid a pay reduction.
Warner’s Logan attorney, Wayne Caldwell, did not respond to a request for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune and Utah Public Radio.
In a statement Friday, the Cache County Attorney's Office said it requested that Utah County handle the investigation. The office did not answer other questions about the case; neither did the Utah County Attorney's Office.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office explained that it’s not uncommon for counties to have an outside agency investigate issues that involve their staff.
The allegations
According to the second-degree felony charge — which was filed Tuesday in Utah District Court — 63-year-old Warner worked for Cache County from 1996 to 2024. In 2020, the court document states, she became the interim director of the Cache County Children’s Justice Center — a title she held in conjunction with her job as the director of victim services.
In June 2021, the document adds, Warner told an attorney in the Cache County Attorney’s Office — identified only as D.M. — that she was about halfway done with a doctorate in psychology from Liberty University.
In November 2022, according to the document, Warner shared a screenshot of what was purportedly an email from Liberty University congratulating her on completing a doctoral program: “The text read in part, ‘On behalf of the staff, faculty and board of trustees at Liberty University, I offer my sincere congratulations on your completion of your doctoral program.’”
That same month, the document states, Warner asked to give up her additional role as interim director of the county’s Children’s Justice Center. But, because she had earned a doctorate, the document says, she wanted to retain the additional pay she had been getting for filling the job.
The charging document says D.M. — Dane Murray had been named interim county attorney Nov. 1, 2022 — agreed to keep her at the same salary she was paid when she filled dual roles.
Almost two years later, in August 2024, the court document says, the county asked for verification of Warner’s doctorate.
Neither the Cache County Attorney’s Office nor the Utah County Attorney’s Office answered an inquiry as to what prompted questions about Warner’s degree.
After she was asked for verification, the charging document indicates, Warner emailed documents to county staff that showed she had been given an ethereal doctorate from Breyer State Theology University in August 2022. The school, according to the court document and the university’s website, isn’t accredited.
Because the county believed she had a doctorate, the court document says, Warner’s compensation was about $14,000 more than it otherwise would have been.
If D.M. had known that Warner’s doctorate did not come from an accredited university, the court document states, he wouldn’t have accommodated her request to stay at a higher salary as she gave up one of her roles, and he would have fired her for lying about the degree.
Warner resigns — and sues
Warner resigned from her position with the county in December 2024.
In February 2025, she sued Cache County, alleging she felt pushed to the center of political crosshairs during an election between then-interim Cache County Attorney Taylor Sorensen and Cameron Cox. She also argued that she had been retaliated against for finding discrepancies in county finances.
Her lawsuit alleged that in August 2024, her pay was reduced and she was suspended “for a false and pretextual reason.” That pay reduction and suspension, according to the charging document, came a day after county staff realized her doctorate did not come from an accredited university.
Warner dropped her lawsuit in August 2025. Court documents do not state when Warner will first appear in court on the felony charge, which carries a potential prison term of up to 15 years.
