CLINTON, Tenn. — Two former Anderson County Schools employees are accused of using system money to steal thousands of dollars, according to the Anderson County District Attorney General's Office.
A grand jury has indicted Heather Heatherly and Stephanie Jenkins on counts of theft over $10,000. It's a Class C felony.
The Tennessee Comptroller's Office said that Heatherly stole at least $23,311.
A merchant's concerns about the use of a government account to buy certain unidentified items prompted the investigation, according to the DA's Office.
Investigators reviewed records from February 2018 through December 2019 after the report of unauthorized purchases were charged to a school purchasing card (P-card), the Tennessee Comptroller's Office said.
The Office of Student Services uses school funds to purchase food, clothing, and minor household items for students in need. Officials said that Heatherly purchased the necessary items and began paying for the items using a VISA P-Card in February 2018.
Officials said that Heatherly used the P-card to make unauthorized purchases totaling at least $23,311 including purses, watches, and other personal items for her own use, enjoyment, and benefit.
To conceal these misappropriations, Heatherly altered invoices to hide the description of the items and her personal residence as the shipping address. She also used an unauthorized ink stamp to place the Office of Student Services’ director’s signature on purchasing documents, according to the Tennessee Comptroller's Office.
Investigators said they are also questioning an additional $16,288 in purchases made with the P-card that were not authorized by the office director. Investigators could not determine whether these purchases were used exclusively for the benefit of Anderson County Schools.
According to the school system, both women were administrative assistants who were terminated in May 2020.
Heatherly was suspended without pay from her employment with the school system on January 7, 2020. Her employment was terminated on May 18, 2020.
WBIR is seeking clarification on how long the women worked in the system. At this point, we don't have details on Stephanie Jenkins' indictment.
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office investigated with assistance from the school system, the state Comptroller's Office, and Anderson County prosecutors.
Heatherly and Jenkins were fired as the investigation continued.
They're to be arraigned on the charges on March 4.
DA Dave Clark and Sheriff Russell Barker praised the work of investigators.
Superintendent Dr. Tim Parrott said the employees were suspended and then fired once "fraud" was discovered.
"We have worked with the State Comptroller and local law enforcement to expose any wrongdoing and have installed safeguards for the future," Parrott said in the news release.