ANKENY, Iowa — The Ankeny Chamber of Commerce announced in an email to members that CEO and President Melisa Cox was let go after an internal audit found financial irregularities.

According to the email, the Chamber’s Executive Committee dismissed Cox effective November 16 following the audit results. The email goes on to state that an official complaint was filed and all information was turned over to authorities.

Sergeant Corey Schneden with the Ankeny Police Department said that the department received a report about the incident on Saturday and detectives are currently investigating the case.

It is unknown at this time what the financial irregularities consisted of.

The Ankeny Chamber of Commerce released the following statement about the incident:

The Ankeny Chamber of Commerce recently discovered some financial irregularities during the course of an audit. Given the details known at this time, the individual tied to these irregularities has been dismissed from the organization and the Executive Board of Directors is working with an external audit team to fully assess the extent of the issue. Thankfully, the Chamber has insurance to help cover these types of occurrences.

The Chamber is financially sound and focused on fulfilling its mission and the board and staff are committed to ensuring this incident will not derail the Chamber’s efforts moving forward.

We have turned the matter over to local authorities for further investigation and will cooperate with any future investigation.

The Ankeny Chamber of Commerce

Cox took over as CEO and president of the chamber in 2021 when Julie Todtz retired after nearly two decades in the position.

According to the email, the board will begin searching for a new CEO in the coming weeks. Until then, Trent Murphy has been named as the interim CEO.

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