Photo: Shamia Jefferson
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A former City of Dermott employee, Shamia Jefferson, has been arrested. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says as a Dermott City Hall secretary, Jefferson was in a position of trust, having full and complete access to money paid to the City of Dermott by residents for their water and sewer bills.
A 2016 legislative audit discovered discrepancies in approximately 100 deposits. Banking records from two financial institutions and documents from the city water department were analyzed, indicating numerous unrecorded checks had been deposited to conceal missing cash. The total amount of funds missing was $15,594.
Jefferson left her job at the City of Dermott and was employed as a bank teller at First Service Bank from August 2018 to August 2019. An additional investigation and audit were conducted regarding missing money from First Service Bank. As a result, Jefferson was found to have taken money from her cash drawer and falsified a cash transaction ticket.
After extensive and thorough investigations, agents with the Public Integrity Division of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office sought and received a warrant of arrest for Jefferson. She was arrested and charged with two counts of theft of property, a Class C felony. Jefferson was also charged with one count of falsifying a business record, a Class A misdemeanor. Jefferson turned herself in to authorities in Chicot County on Thursday.
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