Nearly $100,000 missing from KY jail. Official died from suicide when problem found.
Nearly $100,000 in deposits went missing from an account at the Adair County Regional Jail in the most recent fiscal year, according to an audit released Wednesday.
The money was supposed to be put into an account for inmates to use to buy items or services such as electronic cigarettes or telephone time. Family members of inmates deposit the money with the jail.
However, a total of $97,451 that the jail received for the account wasn’t deposited between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, the audit found.
Harmon’s office said the finding would be reported to Kentucky State Police.
Jailer Joey White said the county has already contacted police. State police couldn’t finish the investigation until the audit was finished, White said.
“I knew that there was missing money,” White said Wednesday.
The jail took in a total of $571,229 in the inmate account that fiscal year but only $473,778 was deposited.
White said he did not take the money.
White said the jail administrator died as a result of suicide last November after the missing money came to light during field work on the audit.
The audit said White had not put proper controls in place over the account. For instance, a second person didn’t review the account balances to check on the person who took in the money.
White said he has changed procedures to fix the problems identified in the audit.
“We are on top of everything,” he said.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
