Two charged in theft of $180,000

The former treasurer and a former member of the Drew County Museum Commission have been charged with felony theft after a state legislative audit found more than $180,000 in improper and undocumented spending, court records show.

Elizabeth Thurman, 66, and Terri Wolfe, 55, were each charged with theft of more than $25,000, a felony punishable by between five and 20 years in prison.

Wolfe, the former treasurer, and Thurman, a former commission member, resigned Sept. 8, 2015. The public commission has received money from Monticello and Drew County taxpayers to help maintain the Drew County Historical Museum.

Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen filed charges Friday, less than two months after an Arkansas Legislative Audit investigative report about the commission’s finances was published.

Instead of being arrested, Thurman and Wolfe were issued summonses to appear in court. The first appearance is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Feb. 13 before Circuit Judge Sam Pope, Drew County Circuit Clerk Beverly Burks said.

The audit report found “improper and undocumented disbursements” totaling $57,753 to Wolfe and $20,186 to Thurman between Jan. 1, 2011, and Sept. 8, 2015. An additional $104,507 was improperly disbursed to other people, who during interviews with investigators said they did not receive most of that money, according to records.

One person told investigators that Wolfe often would pay her in cash for work at the museum, saying the museum’s bank account did not have enough funds to cover a check. Days later, Wolfe would say that the museum subsequently received money, present the person a blank check and ask her to endorse it so that Wolfe could reimburse herself for the cash, the person said, according to the report.

Arkansas State Police began investigating the case in November 2015 at Deen’s request, according to the agency’s investigative file, which Deen’s office provided.

According to that file, Thurman and Wolfe did not meet with auditors despite being given the opportunity to do so. A Monticello attorney listed as their representative in the file did not return a message left at his office Wednesday. Court records list a shared address of 218 Browning Drive in Monticello, and a phone number listed for that residence was not in service.

Deen said the investigation is ongoing and that at least two of four unnamed people mentioned in the audit are cooperating with law enforcement officials. He said the full case file is more detailed than the audit report and “replete with individual expenditures that would raise eyebrows.”

The Drew County Museum Commission received $7,500 from Monticello and $7,500 from Drew County in fiscal 2016, according to city and county officials. The commission, responsible for maintaining the Drew County Historical Museum and purchasing artifacts, also receives income from two rental properties it owns, the audit report says.