KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A former comptroller at West Knox Utility District was indicted after she improperly changed the balances of her paid time off and sick leave, according to the Tennessee Comptroller's Office.
They said Wednesday that Kimberly Green adjusted her PTO leave balance by at least 227 hours between July 2018 and June 2021, without the approval of WKUD management. They said the adjusted hours increased her leave balance by $10,258.
They also said Green increased her sick leave balance by 85.87 hours and redeemed those hours in 2020 for $3,756.
They also said she made unauthorized adjustments to the PTO and sick leave balances of at least nine other current and former employees. It could have cost WKUD around $27,240, according to officials. Some employees said they neither requested nor were aware of the adjustments.
The investigation began when officials at WKUD reported suspicious transactions to the Comptroller's Office. They said they ended Green's employment on July 20, 2021, and used her final PTO leave balance to recover the unauthorized amounts she gave herself.
She was also indicted on a count of computer crimes, a count of forgery and two counts of official misconduct. The balances were corrected for current employees to reflect the authorized amount of time they had for paid time off and sick leave. She could face fines of up to $120,000 for the charges of computer crimes and forgery.