Readers Ask: Did the Sheriff Ignore Felony Credit Card Fraud by a County Employee?
Is there any truth to a rumor circulating on social media?
Readers have asked if there is any truth to rumors circulating on social media that, back in 2024, the Sheriff refused to act on allegations that a Caswell County employee had committed “felony credit card fraud.”
There is usually at least a grain of truth to most gossip, but sometimes you have to dig deep, past the inflammatory rhetoric, and into the documentation of the facts themselves to find it so I started digging.
Turns out, there was a documented report of embezzlement by a Caswell County employee in June of 2024, but the suspect was NOT the administration employee who is now being named on social media.
According to the incident report on file at the Caswell County Sheriff’s Office, the County Manager, who at the time was Scott Meszaros, contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report that an employee with Family Services was suspected of making an unauthorized, personal purchase on a County credit card.
According to the report, the 27-year-old female suspect, who is no longer employed by the county, admitted that she had used the credit card for an $88.95 purchase at Food Lion, “to buy groceries for her children because she did not get paid enough.”
The purchase was expensed to a grant, which meant the grantor, not the County, was considered the victim and asked to determine whether they wished to pursue criminal charges against the employee.
Ultimately, the decision was made not to press criminal charges if the employee repaid the amount charged. According to the report, the suspect repaid the $88.95 on July 16, 2024 and no charges were filed.
About This Column
Reader's Ask is a periodic column that seeks to answer questions raised by readers seeking more clarity or fact-checking on the things they hear out and about in the community.
