09/09/2025 - JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
A new
report from State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick finds the former Randolph County
Sheriff, who was barred from accessing county funds by a restraining order
while still in office, is responsible for at least $222,605 in county funds
that were misappropriated or inappropriately spent, and nearly $2,000 that is
still missing. The audit report, which gives the Randolph County Sheriff's
Office the lowest possible rating of "poor," also recommends the
County Commission work with law enforcement to pursue criminal prosecution of
the former sheriff.
"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. It's clear he had no regard for the law and saw county funds as being
his personal piggy bank. Thankfully the Sheriff's Office is now in more
competent hands and officials are working to put our recommendations in place
so such an egregious breach of public trust cannot happen again," said
Auditor Fitzpatrick. "When you take this report in combination with our
previous report on the other aspects of Randolph County government, it's clear
county officials have a lot of work to do to regain the confidence of the
people. I hope they will continue to follow the path we have given them to
create a county government that is more efficient, effective, and
transparent."
The report found former Sheriff Aaron Wilson made 11 unsupported, improper
cash withdrawals totaling $47,500 and improperly cashed 2 checks totaling
$9,000. The former Sheriff claimed he withdrew cash for things like purchasing
toys for children and to reimburse deputies for training expenses, but there
was little to no documentation to support these claims or to explain why they
failed to comply with county disbursement procedures that dictate the use of a
check. Wilson also improperly cashed a $4,000 check from the City of Huntsville
and a $5,000 check from the annual advertising calendar vendor. The former
Sheriff could not provide documentation to support the use of these funds, and
the funds were not deposited into a Sheriff's account.
The report also documents $166,105 in improper and unsupported
disbursements from the Benevolent Fund and Commissary accounts. While some of
the disbursements may have been appropriate, the former Sheriff disbursed the
money outside of the normal county purchasing process, which circumvented
county purchasing controls including County Commission oversight. In one
example the former Sheriff made a cash withdrawal of $500 from an ATM located
in a casino in Lewis County. Wilson claimed he provided an employee with the
$500 he withdrew in April as a cash advance for meals at an out-of-state
training that took place a few weeks later. While the employee was able to
provide receipts for a portion of the total there was no justification provided
for why the reimbursement occurred outside the normal county process.
Additionally, former Randolph
County Sheriff Aaron Wilson purchased 8 vehicles and a trailer for a total of
$78,650 using the Commissary account, which allowed him to forego the normal
county purchasing review and approval process. The former Sheriff did not
obtain bids as required by state law for five of the vehicles. The former
Sheriff also made one-time payments, which appear to be bonuses that violate
the Missouri Constitution, to 20 jailers totaling $15,692. The check memo lines
identified some of these payments as a "uniform allowance" but the
transactions appear to be an attempt to disguise year-end bonuses. He also
improperly paid additional compensation, totaling $5,214, to 4 office
employees. None of the payments went through the normal county payroll process.
Wilson also violated the Missouri
Constitution by using public funds to make a variety of donations totaling
several thousand dollars. Included in this is $1,500 in donations to a local
private school that the former Sheriff's child attended. He also purchased food
and paid for meals at local restaurants totaling $4,321 with Benevolent Fund
and Commissary account funds. Additionally, he used public funds to make five
payments totaling $1,695 to a local Rotary Club for his personal membership
dues. The report also identifies at least $1,988 in commissary receipts that
were not deposited by the Sheriff's Office, and the money is missing.
The report also documents how
Wilson was able to divert county receipts collected by his office to accounts
improperly held outside of the county treasury. This allowed him to improperly
spend county funds maintained in the Benevolent Fund, K-9 Fund, and CCW Fund
accounts. The report notes there is no statutory authority allowing the Sheriff
to maintain these accounts outside the county treasury. Another finding in the
report documents how the lack of segregation of duties and adequate accounting
controls and procedures resulted in the improper and unsupported payments going
undetected for a significant period of time. The Sheriff's Office also failed
to maintain adequate supporting documentation for more than half of the
disbursements reviewed by the State Auditor's Office.
Other findings in the audit
identify how the Sheriff's Office did not enter into written contracts for some
prisoner boarding, did not have sufficient procedures to bill other counties
for prisoner board, did not maintain complete, accurate records of seized
property, and did not conduct periodic physical inventories of seized property.
The complete audit of Randolph
County Sheriff's Office can be found here.
