Former Randolph County Sheriff Aaron Wilson was responsible for nearly $224,000 in county funds that were misused or inappropriately spent, according to a report from the Missouri State Auditor's Office.
A news release from State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said $222,605 of that amount was "misappropriated or inappropriately spent," and the remaining money is still missing.
The audit report gave the Randolph County Sheriff's Office under Wilson the lowest possible rating of "poor," finding Wilson spent improper amounts of money on certain items, such as cash withdrawals and the purchasing of vehicles and a trailer.
Wilson reportedly claimed he used the money for toys for kids or to reimburse deputies for training expenses, but the auditor's report said it found no evidence or documentation to support these claims.
According to the report, Wilson made some of these purchases using the county Benevolent Fund and Commissary accounts, which "allowed him to forego the normal county purchasing review and approval process."
In another case, Wilson allegedly "improperly" cashed checks from the City of Huntsville and the annual advertising calendar vendor. Fitzpatrick said Wilson could not provide documentation to support the use of these funds, which were also not deposited into the sheriff's office account.
"It is outrageous that the chief law enforcement officer for the county engaged in apparent criminal conduct as he abused his authority by funneling money to accounts outside of the county treasury and then potentially misused tens of thousands of these dollars for his personal benefit," Fitzpatrick said in the news release. "It's clear he had no regard for the law and saw county funds as being his personal piggy bank."
You can read the full auditor's report here.
The release said Fitzpatrick recommends the Randolph County Commission work with law enforcement to pursue a criminal investigation into Wilson's actions.
