LITTLE ROCK — The IRS and Arkansas County prosecutor are investigating the misappropriation of more than $31,000 in county funds, state legislators heard Friday.
The county clerk resigned and agreed to reimburse the county after the irregularities turned up in a state audit, officials told members of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
The audit of the county clerk’s office — covering Jan. 1, 2009, to May 31, 2011 — found that former clerk Cathy Orman improperly issued $18,283 in county funds to several county vendors or to herself for non-county expenses, Tim Jones, a field officer for the Division of Legislative Audit, said to legislators.
Jones said auditors also discovered Orman altered payroll records and overstated her federal and state payroll tax withholdings by $13,364 for herself and her husband, who works in the county road department.
Orman told auditors she used county credit cards for personal expenses, issued herself checks without claims for personal expenses, overstated mileage on claims for reimbursement and forged the county judge’s signature on some claims.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Orman resigned June 30 and agreed to reimburse the county $31,647. She has paid back $19,918 and still owes $11,720, Jones said.
No charges have been filed against Orman. Arkansas County Prosecutor Robert Dittrich of Stuttgart is investigating, along with the Internal Revenue Service, Jones said.
Dittrich did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday afternoon.
During Friday’s meeting, Arkansas County Judge Glenn “Sonny” Cox said Orman’s husband has been questioned and no charges are expected to be filed against him.
“We don’t think he was involved,” Cox said, adding that Cathy Orman, along with misappropriating county funds, also spent all of the couple’s savings, including money she received from cashing in IRAs.
Orman served as deputy clerk and chief deputy clerk for 23 years before being elected county clerk in 2009, Cox said.
The state audit recommended that initiating, receipting, depositing, disbursing and recording of cash transactions be disbursed among several county employees rather than having one person responsible for all.
Roger Norman, director of the Division of Legislative Audit, said such a recommendation is common to county and city officials.
Cox said he has already implemented such a change to make sure a similar problem does not occur in the future.
“The county clerk should not generate the checks and then sign them,” Cox said.