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Cash’s daughter indicted on similar charges |
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Written by Voice Staff report
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Friday, 01 January 2010 |
Sheila A. Coffey has been indicted exactly a month after her mother, Faye Cash, was accused of illicitly obtaining funds from the County Attorney’s Office
On Monday, a McCreary County Grand Jury returned a 19 count indictment against Coffey, of Parkers Lake, charging her with theft by failure to make required disposition or property, abuse of a public office, tampering with physical evidence and being a persistent felony offender. The indictment alleges that on 16 occasions in 2009 Coffey converted a total of $4,318 of public money for her own use.
The charge of abuse of public trust charge in the indictment accuses Coffey of obtaining “public money subject to a known legal obligation to make specified payment and she dealt with the money as her own.” A tampering with physical evidence charge claims Coffey accessed a computer in the County Attorney’s Office and changed names on a cold check account.
The charges against Coffey, following an investigation by KSP Detective Billy Correll, follow charges brought against Faye Cash last month.
Cash was the subject of two separate indictments that charges her with 13 counts of theft by unlawful taking, 49 counts of second-degree forgery and abuse of public trust over $10,000.
Essentially, Cash, who served the office as secretary, managed funds related to cold check and child support programs. Though details to the allegations against her were not exact, it appears as if Cash was diverting money from those accounts for her own use, which included issuance of additional payroll checks.
The matter against Cash and Coffey was referred to investigators after County Attorney Michele Wilson-Jones questioned the accounts managed in the office. After Correll’s initial investigation in the case, both Cash and Coffey were relieved of their duties in the office.
Wilson told local media she had worked with Cash, who served the County Attorney’s Office for more than 20 years, her entire legal career. She said the situation was “extremely difficult” on both a personal and professional basis.
“We are a public office and we should hold the public’s trust,” Wilson said in a statement released from her office at the time of Cash’s indictment. “I am taking many measures to see that a situation like this does not repeat itself.”
Wilson, a Whitley City attorney, began her service in the office late in 2008 following the retirement of Phil Chaney.
Detective Correll spoke to the media briefly about the case saying more details regarding the allegations would be made public if or when the case moved to trial.
Other indictments include:
• Jimmy Foster, of Revelo, has been indicted on a charge of first-degree wanton endangerment.
• Amy Kidd, of Whitley City, was indicted Monday on a charge of first-degree promoting contraband.
• Edward L. Jones, Jr. and Christina A. Slaven, both of Stearns, were jointly indicted on charges of receiving stolen property under $500 and receiving stolen property over $500. Jones was also charged with being a persistent felony offender.
• Ronnie Hill, of Parkers Lake, is facing a charge of first-degree sexual abuse after an indictment was returned against him this week.
• Mallory C. Miller, of Pine Knot, was named in a six-count indictment that charges her with theft by deception.
• Zachariah Jones, of Pine Knot, has been charged with theft by unlawful taking over $500 after he allegedly took a vehicle belonging to Haynes Auto Sales.
The Voice would like to remind our readers that an indictment is not an indication of one’s guilt or innocence in a matter, but merely represents that enough evidence exists to pursue a case further in a court of law.
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