Fee’s assets frozen [The Tribune, Seymour, Ind.]

Dec. 8--Indiana has obtained a temporary restraining order against Brownstown's clerk-treasurer in connection with an ongoing state and federal investigation of town financial records.Attorney General Greg Zoeller took action in Jackson Circuit Court on Friday against Clerk-treasurer Rebecka Fee, whom he accused of overpaying herself more than $365,000 in tax dollars since January 2006.Fee, who has not been on the job since mid-October, could not be reached for comment.Zoeller was granted a temporary restraining order by a special judge to prevent Fee from disposing of or transferring any financial assets while the investigation into misspent public funds continues, a news release from his office stated Monday afternoon.The restraining order marks the first use of the new public-accountability law Zoeller supported and the Indiana General Assembly passed in April, House Enrolled Act 1514.Under the new law, the State Board of Accounts alerts the Indiana Attorney General's Office to potential fraud on public funds much earlier than before. The board's action in turn allows the attorney general to intervene in court to prevent suspects from transferring, distributing or concealing assets, thus preserving them to recover later."This Brownstown overpayment case is a textbook example of why Indiana needed a stronger law to combat public corruption in the form of embezzlers on the public payroll, and so I commend the state legislators who passed it," Zoeller said. "The Office of the Attorney General intends to aggressively pursue these State Board of Accounts claims of public corruption in order to maintain the public's trust."In the Brownstown case, a State Board of Accounts field examiner recently audited the town's finances from between January 2006 and October 2009. As clerk-treasurer during that time, Fee was the town government's top financial officer. Although Fee's official salary as approved by the town council was $1,564.98 biweekly, Fee overpaid herself by $1,000 to $4,000 biweekly, the examiner found.Fee handled the town government payroll and doctored computer records to conceal the embezzlement from town council members when they reviewed claims, the examiner found.A check of public records by The Tribune in November showed that on the last town payroll check Fee cashed, she paid herself the $1,564.98 gross pay plus an unexplained $3,500, according to public records on file at town hall, for a gross pay of $5,064.98. Her net pay from that check was $3,408.29.Records also showed Fee had been paid $102,894.54 through the Oct. 22 payroll period. Her salary computes to about $40,689.48 annually.Fee's check for the Oct. 22 pay period was not forwarded to her, town officials said.Attempts by The Tribune to reach Fee over the past six weeks or so have been unsuccessful.The State Board of Accounts audit is continuing.The attorney general is also seeking a pre-judgment attachment of Fee's financial assets and garnishment of her wages. Assets include a personal bank account, any proceeds from the sale of a house in Brownstown and any benefits or contributions in Fee's deferred-compensation retirement plan.The judge scheduled a hearing on the attorney general's prejudgment motion for Dec. 14.Fee, 56, still is the elected clerk-treasurer but has not performed the duties of the office since October, when the town council appointed an interim clerk-treasurer to manage town funds. Fee was last seen at work Oct. 16.Town Councilman Jim Phillips said last month council took the action of appointing an interim clerk-treasurer because Fee had not appeared at work and because of the state and federal investigation into the town's finances.Town attorney John Rothring, speaking during a regular town council meeting Monday night, said he recently spoke with a state auditor at the courthouse in Brownstown and was told that state and federal investigators are asking the town not to take any steps to impeach Fee at this time.Rothring said investigators made that request because they didn't want an impeachment action to impede any civil and criminal investigations.After the meeting, council President Leroy Warren said because of the falsified claims submitted by Fee, council members were never aware of any illegal activity."We never had a reason to suspect anything," Warren said.He said Fee also was bonded and insured."But it's not enough," Warren said.He said the town has been able to cope with the lost funding and should be all right in the future."We've been really conservative over the years," he said. "It's a good thing, or she would have broke us."Fee has not been back to town hall since the audit, and has not been paid since that time, Warren said.The State Board of Accounts audits finances of local government offices and school districts. If it discovers theft, fraud or malfeasance, the board, once it completes the investigation, sends a "certified audit" to the Attorney General -- authorizing him to collect the misappropriated funds from the official responsible."In the past, it could take the board several months to a year or more to complete its certified audit and refer the case to our office so we could start collecting the missing amount."But in that time, the suspected individual still might have had access to public funds and still been able to squander them. This new law also lets the state preserve any other assets the individual may have so that a recovery of funds can be possible," Zoeller said.Under the new public-accountability law, HEA 1514, the Attorney General's office now is alerted and brought into the investigation earlier in the process.The Attorney General then can act swiftly to freeze the suspect's assets until the final audit report is completed and the appropriate course of legal action decided.Another major change in the new law is it increases the amount of surety bond -- in essence, public-employee theft insurance -- that local government officials must carry. Previously, it was $15,000 coverage; now it's $30,000. Much like submitting an insurance claim, the bond can be cashed in after theft or fraud in order to reimburse public funds.Once the State Board of Accounts' final audit is complete, the Attorney General's office plans to file a civil collections lawsuit and seek a judgment against Fee to recover public funds from her.To see more of The Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tribtown.com/.Copyright (c) 2009, The Tribune, Seymour, Ind.Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.