Former Hatton town clerk-treasurer arrested for theft from town

Yahoo

a day ago

Jun. 10—Key points:
* Jared Potts, former Hatton Clerk-Treasurer, suspected of misappropriating town funds
* Turned himself in the Adams County Sheriff's Office on June 6.
RITZVILLE — The former Hatton clerk-treasurer and fire chief turned himself in to the Adams County Sheriff's Office on June 6 while under investigation for first-degree theft, first-degree possession of stolen property and seven counts of mail theft. Jared Potts, Lind, allegedly misappropriated town funds and kept town equipment at his home.
Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said the ACSO served a search warrant at Potts' home last week and found equipment that belonged to the town of Hatton. Potts had agreed to return equipment to the town following an investigation by the Washington State Auditor's Office, Wagner said, but some of it was found at his residence during the search.
Concerns about Potts first surfaced in 2023, Wagner said, both from ACSO and from Hatton residents.
"We got a few more complaints over a couple of years," Wagner said.
Potts ended his employment with Hatton in October 2024.
The WSAO report said a possible misappropriation of funds was reported in April 2023 by a former town employee who was working temporarily following the resignation of Hatton's mayor.
The report from the WSAO said auditors determined Potts had misappropriated about $72,200 from the town between December 2022 and November 2024.
"Additionally, $144,604 in questionable payments occurred between Oct. 25, 2022, and Sept. 20, 2024," the WSAO report said.
The clerk-treasurer was one of two part-time employees, and the only one who issued a town credit card, the report said.
"Our review of credit card statements identified $15,055 in questionable purchases between Feb. 21, 2023, and July 13, 2023, because the town did not have adequate documentation to show the transactions had a legitimate business purpose," it said.
Auditors found about $36,000 paid to Potts as salary in excess of his approved work schedule, as well as cash advances that he hadn't repaid, between December 2022 and October 2024.
Potts also acted as the chief of the town's volunteer department, established in December 2023. He applied to federal and state programs for equipment; the department received fire trucks and water tenders, among other pieces of firefighting apparatus. That included defibrillators.
Potts allegedly kept a fire vehicle and a defibrillator at his residence, the auditor's report said. He returned the fire truck in September 2024. The defibrillator was found at his residence during the ACSO search.
Potts talked to auditors in August 2024 and said he would provide documentation for the financial transactions, but never did, the WSAO report said.
Potts continued to have access to Hatton's bank accounts following his resignation from town employ, the report said, and auditors found about $3,600 in payments by Potts from town accounts in October and November 2024.