Lexington jail staffer accused of charging city for more than 400 hours in bogus overtime
A Fayette County Detention Center sergeant has resigned after being accused of charging the city 400 hours of overtime he never worked, according to city officials.
Sgt. Jeremy Abney, who has worked at the jail since 2012, resigned in November after being confronted with discrepancies in his overtime hours from January 2020 to May 2021, according to city officials and documents the Lexington Herald-Leader received through an Open Records Act request.
According to an Oct. 5 memo written by Maj. Matt LeMonds, Abney’s time card listed 53 days he had claimed overtime —any where from two hours to 11 hours —but his swipe card showed he was not in the building.
In addition, there were other instances where Abney was listed as working only a few hours of overtime but claimed more on his time sheet, LeMonds’ memo stated. In other instances, jail records showed that other staffers had worked Abney’s overtime for him, yet he claimed the overtime on his time sheet.
The investigation did not list how much money Abney may have overcharged the city. Abney made $26.43 an hour. He was paid time and a half to work overtime at $39.64. an hour. In total, that would equal charging the city $15,856 for time he never worked.
Nick Oleson, Abney’s lawyer, said the overtime overcharge was a mistake due to the extensive overtime Abney was working at the time.
“Former FCDC Sgt. Jeremy Abney and LFUCG resolved these allegations following an extensive investigation by LFUCG,” Oleson said. “In their negotiated settlement agreement and release, neither LFUCG nor Sgt. Abney admitted any fault with respect to the allegations. Sgt. Abney maintains his actions were innocent and occurred during a period of extensive overtime demands at the facility. Sgt. Abney enjoyed his tenure serving the citizens of Lexington and looks forward to new opportunities outside of law enforcement”.
Lexington Mayor LInda Gorton said she is asking city officials to further investigate.
“I am deeply disturbed about the possibility of this level of theft from our city and I am asking our Department of Law and Division of Human Resources to investigate it,” Gorton said.
Jail administrators recommended Abney be fired, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Leader.
Abney was placed on administrative leave with pay in October pending a disciplinary hearing in November. He did not show up to his disciplinary hearing. Instead his lawyer told jail officers Abney was going to resign, said Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city.
Abney also alleged he asked for union representation at a meeting with jail officials to address his questionable overtime activities and his request was denied, according to documents. In memos, jail officials said Abney was not denied union representation.
Abney’s immediate supervisor, who failed to detect Abney’s questionable overtime over 18 months, has not been disciplined, she said.
“It was typical for Sgt. Abney to work a lot of overtime, so the time did not appear to be out of place,” Straub said. “The problem was discovered when he was working overtime on a different shift. The shift commander noticed that he had left, but had been listed as being on the clock. “
Due to severe staffing shortages at the detention center, the city has spent more than $1 million on overtime at the jail since July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, city officials have previously said.
The Herald-Leader asked for documents connected to the investigation of Abney’s questionable overtime on Dec. 10. The city repeatedly delayed release of the documents, saying in responses to the newspaper the records were “voluminous” and the city needed additional time.
City officials sent notice to the newspaper the records were ready to be picked up late Tuesday afternoon, after the city and the Fraternal Order of Police Town Branch Lodge announced a new collective bargaining agreement after two years of often times contentious negotiations. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council unanimously approved the contract Thursday.
In total, the city released 379 pages of documents, the bulk of which were print outs of Abney’s time sheets and documents showing Abney’s use of his swipe card to go in and out of the jail.
Straub said the delay in the release of the records was due to the number of documents related to the investigation and was not connected to the the collective bargaining agreement.
“The information was given prior to the approval of the contract,” Straub said.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 3:14 PM.
