Village of Port Vincent Collects $16,890 in Fines Not Deposited into Village Bank Account; Former Village Assistant Clerk Arrested

An investigative audit released Monday found that the Village of Port Vincent is missing at least $16,890 in fines collected between Jan. 8, 2015 and March 16, 2015 that should have been deposited into the Village’s bank account.

Both the former Village Clerk and the former Village Assistant Clerk responsible for collecting the fines denied taking any of the missing funds. However, auditors found that former Village Assistant Clerk Brandi Deaton failed to issue a receipt for all cash payments that she collected and appears to have falsified public records to conceal cash amounts collected but not deposited.

“By failing to issue a receipt for all payments collected and falsifying public records to conceal cash amounts collected, Ms. Deaton may have violated state law,” said Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

On Apr. 10, 2015, Village of Port Vincent employees noticed that a fine had been paid but the corresponding receipt and deposit were missing. Former Village Clerk Jenny Golman contacted Ms. Deaton, the former Village Assistant Clerk who had been terminated shortly before that on Mar. 16, 2015. Ms. Deaton at that time said she had misplaced an envelope containing the Village fine collections for the month of March 2015. Village officials then called in the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, suspecting a possible misappropriation of public funds.

With assistance from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, auditors found that between January 2015 and March 2015, the Village collected $1,230 in cash for fines owed, but the cash was not deposited into the Village’s bank account. During that same time, court documents show another $15,660 was accepted in payments for fines owed, but receipts were not issued and there were no corresponding bank deposits.

The audit says that for one week in February, records show the Village collected $4,520 in fines that was not deposited into the Village’s bank account. However, during that same week, Ms. Deaton deposited $4,830 in cash into her personal bank account. Over the nine-week period covered by the audit, when $16,890 in fines collected went missing, it appears that Ms. Deaton made cash deposits totaling $12,880 into her personal bank account.

The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Deaton on Sept. 16, 2015. Ms. Deaton turned herself in to authorities on Sept. 18, 2015.

Port Vincent Mayor David Carter says the Village has now implemented the state auditor’s recommendations to prevent this type of theft from happening again.