Receipts totaling at least $29,921 were received by the city of Smithville Municipal Division during the period May 2006 through February 2007, but were not deposited.
The former Court Clerk was hired in May 2006 and terminated on February 27, 2007. The former clerk was charged with three felony counts of stealing on May 7, 2007, after it was discovered by the current Court Clerk that some bond monies received were missing. According to a probable cause statement, the former clerk admitted to stealing between $12,000 and $16,000. She pleaded not guilty on May 9, 2007.
For the period of May 2006 to February 2007, we compared amounts receipted into the city's receipt system by the court to amounts deposited into the court's fines and costs bank account. Checks from the court's bond bank account, totaling $16,121, were deposited into the court's fines and costs account but were not recorded in the city's receipt system. These unrecorded bond checks were included in deposits to the court's fines and costs account, and recorded cash collections of fines and costs, totaling at least $19,980, were not deposited, and apparently were misappropriated. It also appears that recorded fine and cost amounts were altered after receipt slips were issued which allowed additional cash to be withheld from deposits. In addition, cash bonds totaling at least $9,941 were received and not deposited and apparently were misappropriated.
In addition to the missing monies, the current Court Clerk has been unable to locate many court documents, including case files, court dockets, deposit reports, monthly disbursement reports, and bank reconciliations.
Lack of internal controls and bond and ticket accountability, as well as no independent review of the Court Clerk's work, allowed these misappropriations to go undetected.
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