Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray was arrested Wednesday by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, along with two employees, according to the TBI.
According to authorities, Ray was indicted on seven counts of official misconduct, one count of use of inmates for personal gain, one count of forgery, and six counts of attempt to evade or defeat tax due.
Larry Allen Roberts, a sergeant with the Sheriff's Office, is charged with two counts of official misconduct, the release said, and Larry Lee Martin, a captain with the Sheriff's Office, is charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
All three men were arrested Wednesday and booked into the Claiborne County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
They are expected to be arraigned Sept. 10 in Claiborne County.
Sheriff-elect Bob Brooks said none of the charges against Ray came as a surprise to him.
"I believe in accountability. Everybody is accountable for their actions and they should be treated fair and equal," he said.
Brooks said his election win over Ray signaled Claiborne County was ready for change. As for the road ahead, Brooks said he'll have plenty to do when he takes office in September --starting with the basics.
"Reorganizing the sheriff's office to where it functions as it should. I know it's going to be a challenging road ahead, but I'm up for it," he said.
Prosecutors from the 13th Judicial District Attorney General's Office presented the case Wednesday morning to a Claiborne County grand jury, according to District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway.
Dunaway's office is handling the case because 8th Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler has stepped out of the case. Effler's office has worked with the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office and wants to avoid the appearance of a conflict.
The grand jury returned the indictment soon after Wednesday morning's presentation.
In August 2017, TBI special agents began investigating allegations of illegal activity at the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office, along with the help of state and federal authorities, the release said.
Dunaway said he didn't anticipate more state charges. He noted Ray's case is a joint federal and state operation.
Investigators found that Ray used inmate labor and county resources to work on vehicles and equipment he personally owned from August 2017 to August 2018, the release said. Ray also used inmate labor to assemble his own campaign signs, as well as forging and altering the certificate of title to at least one vehicle, according to the release.
The investigation also found Ray tried to avoid paying the proper sales tax on several personally owned vehicles that he sold dating back to 2012.
During the investigation, agents learned that Roberts, also known as “Fireball”, used a county vehicle to acquire a controlled substance, the release said.
Investigators found that Martin, a captain at the Sheriff’s Office, was a convicted felon and possessed a handgun on multiple occasions despite the prior conviction.
In May, the Claiborne County mayor said financial records were the target of a federal investigation at the Claiborne County Justice Center. In a press release, Mayor Jack Daniels said state and federal agents seized financial records from the Sheriff's Office and finance office as part of an ongoing investigation.
Efforts to reach Daniels on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
10News will continue to update this story as it develops.