Monday, December 5, 2016
Former county commissioner garners twenty-seven year sentence
Lawrenceburg Now
A former Lawrence County Commissioner, indicted earlier this year on more than two hundred criminal charges for the theft of more than a quarter of a million dollars from local fire departments, appeared in court for a sentencing hearing Monday morning.
After hearing evidence in the case, Lawrence County Circuit Court Judge Russ Parkes sentenced Jeffrey Hughes to a total of twenty-seven years, to be served with the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
Hughes, who at the time was serving as the 15th District representative on the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners, tendered his resignation in March after he became the subject of an investigation conducted through the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office.
The Tennessee Comptroller’s office reported in April that their investigation concluded that Hughes had stolen a total of $10,000 from Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) and around $250,000 from Lawrence County Fire and Rescue (LCFR).
On April 15 members of a Lawrence County Grand Jury returned indictments against Hughes, charging him with one count of theft over $250,000, one count of theft over $10,000, and one hundred thirty-six counts of forgery. Additional indictments were obtained in August, charging him with eighty-seven counts of money laundering, for a total of two hundred twenty-five charges.
Hughes appeared in court in October where, under a plea bargain arrangement, he entered pleas of guilty to one count of theft over $250,000, one count of theft over $10,000, and six counts of money laundering. A Class A felony, the charge of theft over $250,000 carries a sentencing range of fifteen to twenty-five years. Theft over $10,000 is a Class C felony with a three to six year sentencing range. The money laundering charges are Class B felonies that carry a penalty of between eight and twelve years apiece.
Parkes heard testimony from lead investigator Tommy Goetz, indicating that Hughes admitted to stealing a total of $265,866.84 in a near seven-year period during which he served as treasurer for LCFR and CVFD. He said that, on the average, Hughes diverted $3,632 monthly, or $43,584.73 annually for his personal use. He accomplished this primarily by writing checks to “cash” and using department checks to purchase gift cards at Walmart. Most of the gift cards, Goetz said, were sold “all over the country” via ebay. He was able to track purchases made with the cards in various states, including Oklahoma, California, and Texas.
Goetz testified that both organizations required signatures from two designated signators in order to authorize checks. He said that Hughes habitually signed his own name, then forged the signature of a second signator. He said that they discovered that Hughes had taken out a loan against his retirement account and had later repaid that loan using a fire department check for $1,200.
As far as recovering the monies Goetz said that, although Hughes had several bank accounts, none of them had a substantial balance. He said that Hughes provided no explanation for his actions, saying that the funds had been used “to live on and pay bills.”
At the time the crimes occurred Hughes was employed as the Budget Director at the Tennessee Department of Prisons. Prior to that, he had been employed as an accountant for the Tennessee Department of Health. Previous to that he had worked for the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, the very department tasked with investigating such crimes. Hughes had served on the board of directors of A Kid’s Place Child Advocacy Center and volunteered his time during tax season with an organization that prepared income taxes at no cost for persons of low income. He served on the county commission, for which he was compensated, and was abundantly involved in church and community activities.
Director of Accounts and Budgets for Lawrence County government, Teresa Purcell, testified that since Hughes was the treasurer, she had worked closely with him throughout the time the crimes occurred regarding budget and accounting for the fire departments. LCFR is an umbrella organization through which funds are distributed to all thirteen local volunteer fire departments and Hughes oversaw all of the funding. Purcell said that Hughes’ actions were detrimental to the fire departments. She said that because of the lack of funds, two of the departments were very nearly forced to shut down.
Tyler McDow, Assistant Director of LCFR, also employed with the Lawrenceburg Fire Department and Chief of New Prospect Volunteer Fire Department, testified that the lack of funding had hit Crawfish Valley Fire Department especially hard. He said that they were put in a position where they were only able to respond to fires within their coverage area, and could not afford to respond as backup to assist other departments. They were on the verge of closing before LCFR recouped $100,000 of their loss from their insurance company.
When Hughes took the stand he apologized for his actions saying, “I am truly sorry. If I could take back my actions, I would do so.” To the group of firefighters present he said, “I just ask forgiveness for what I’ve done. Guys I really am sorry.”
Hughes testified that he knew his actions were wrong. “I struggled several times with stopping,” he said. “It was never intended to be a long term scheme.” He said that when he is released from prison he intends to make full restitution to the departments.
Assistant District Attorney Gary Howell requested that Parkes impose a stiff sentence. He pointed out, “This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment. It wasn’t even a case of needing the money. It was a case of ‘I want some more money.’” He asked the judge not to impose a fine against Hughes, saying, “Once he’s out I want all the money that he can pay to go to restitution.”
In the end Parkes said that, although he does not have the authority to order a payment schedule, he would order Hughes to make restitution to both organizations. Reducing the total amount by the $100,000 they had received from their insurance company, he ordered that he make restitution to CVFD in the amount of $3,107.69 and to LCFR in the amount of $162,759.15.
After considering all of the enhancing and mitigating factors presented, Parkes imposed a sentence of eighteen years on count one; theft over $250,000. On count two, theft over $10,000, Parkes gave a sentence of four years. On the six counts of money laundering Hughes was sentenced to nine years apiece. Parkes said that the six, nine year sentences would run concurrently, effectively resulting in a sentence of nine years. The nine year sentence, he said, would run consecutive to the eighteen year sentence, and the four year sentence would run concurrent to the eighteen year sentence, for a total of twenty-seven years. As a range one offender, Hughes will be required to serve thirty percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole consideration.
