Investigation Finds Questionable Cash-Handling Within
Jackson-Madison County Metro Narcotics Unit
An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office focuses on the activities of a Jackson Police Captain who has managed the administrative aspects of the Jackson-Madison County Metro Narcotics Unit’s (JMCMNU) seizures and forfeitures since 2010.
The captain used a safe located at the Jackson Police Department (JPD) to temporarily store funds in her custody until she could make a bank deposit in the City of Jackson’s bank account. On March 5, 2021, an inventory of the safe revealed that $399,531.26 was inside; some of this money had been in the captain’s custody and control since July 2019.
Investigators identified discrepancies surrounding a total of $15,027.50 in seized money, settlement proceeds, and various payments that were under the captain’s custody and control. These issues include:
Missing money totaling $6,639. Investigators reviewed documentation showing that the captain was the last custodian of these funds; however, there was no documentation that the funds were ever deposited to the official bank account.
The captain found $1,088.50 one day after meeting with investigators. The captain says she found the money in the JPD safe laying under some paperwork and other items on August 24, 2021. She claims that she overlooked it when the safe was inventoried in March.
The captain found and deposited money and money orders after the March 5, 2021 safe inventory that totaled $7,300. Investigators question the whereabouts of this money that was in her custody and control prior to and during the March 5 inventory. The captain claims the money was located either at the impound lot or under her computer monitor.
During an interview with investigators on August 23, 2021, the captain stated that she did not steal, borrow, or put back any money, and that she turned in “every penny” that she ever collected.
The results of this investigation have been communicated to the Office of the District Attorney General of the 30th Judicial District who was appointed as Pro Tem in this matter.
“State law requires that municipal funds be deposited no later than three working days after they are received,” said Comptroller Mumpower. “In this case, some money was not deposited for up to 698 days. We also found numerous internal control weaknesses within the JMCMNU, some of which contributed to the discrepancies identified by our investigators.”
To view the investigative report, go to: https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functions/investigations/find.html
If you suspect fraud, waste, or abuse of public money in Tennessee, call the Comptroller’s toll-free hotline at 800.232.5454, or file a report online at: tncot.cc/fraud. Follow us on twitter @TNCOT and Instagram @tncot.
