Jackson County’s former county clerk pled guilty Thursday to two counts of theft over $2,500.
Amanda Stafford resigned earlier this month. The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office found Stafford stole at least $25,643 between May, 2018 and December, 2019. The office found she used the money collected by the county from residents to pay personal expenses.
The state found a “lapping scheme” Stafford used to conceal the theft. According to the Comptroller’s report, Stafford would take cash from one day’s collections and replace it with money collected on subsequent days. Stafford failed to deposit some $326,000 within two weeks of receipt.
She further altered at least 52 vehicle registration applications to conceal more than $11,000 in theft. In one example, the clerk received $120.50 from a taxpayer. Stafford altered the application by removing the cost of the vehicle, the related sales tax, and the wheel tax. The clerk records showed just $40 collected. Stafford kept the difference.
State officials discovered the theft when state auditors did a surprise cash count at the clerk’s office in October, 2018.
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