Union County family sues Buffalo Township, alleges fraud

A Union County family has sued Buffalo Township and multiple other entities, alleging fraud in a dispute that puts township records, police actions and public oversight under scrutiny.

Audrey and Edward Cramer tied the lawsuit to a property-damage claim at their Buffalo Township home. They said an insurance agent came to the house, photographed hibiscus plants and mistook them for marijuana before turning the pictures over to police. The couple said the episode escalated when three Buffalo Township police officers pulled Audrey Cramer out of her home.

The complaint lands in a township where land-use rules and governing records are publicly posted. Buffalo Township’s zoning ordinance was adopted July 6, 1992, and the version posted online is marked as a June 2022 edition. The township also publishes its audits page, which lists Wayne Walker as chairman, Mark Wehr as vice chairman and Todd Oberdorf as a supervisor. Buffalo Township’s office is at 2115 Strickler Road in Mifflinburg.

That public paper trail matters because fraud cases often turn on what was said, who relied on it and which public records backed up the decision-making. If the Cramers’ claims prove credible, the case could raise questions about how township personnel handled the photographs, what information was shared with police, and whether any related actions were documented through the township’s normal channels. It could also increase the cost of legal defense for township taxpayers if Buffalo Township and any other public entity named in the suit have to spend money responding in court.

The dispute is not the first time the Cramers’ Buffalo Township property has drawn attention. In 2018, Audrey and Edward Cramer publicly described a confrontation over the same hibiscus plants, saying the insurance-claim photos were mistaken for marijuana and led to police involvement. That earlier episode showed how a private property dispute can quickly become a public matter when local police, insurers and township officials are pulled into it.

For Buffalo Township residents, the key questions now run through the public record: who reviewed the photographs, what township response followed, and how the allegations intersect with the township’s land-use and enforcement systems. The lawsuit ensures those questions will remain attached to the names on the township’s public oversight list as the case moves ahead.