BENTONVILLE -- A longtime Benton County employee has been fired after officials learned of a federal probe into money missing from the Accounting Office.
Connie Guild, the accounts payable and grants managers, was fired, effective Thursday morning, according to County Judge Bob Clinard and Brenda Guenther, comptroller.
Personnel file
Barb Ludwig, Benton County’s human resources administrator, said Thursday that Connie Guild’s personnel file is being reviewed and state law requires she give Guild notice a request to view her file has been made. Ludwig said an employee can ask the attorney general to block the release of their file and the attorney general’s office must reply within three days.
Source: Staff report
"Everyone is in shock," Guenther said. "No one would ever have imagined this. Those closer to her than I am are even more shocked about it."
The county has been routinely audited by the state's Legislative Audit, and those audits turned up no indications of any problems, Guenther said. The county's annual audit for the 2015 budget year is about to begin, she said.
The county sent this statement to all elected officials and justices of the peace: "Late in the day Sept. 6, 2016, Benton County Comptroller, Brenda Guenther, was contacted by representatives of the FBI and IRS about irregularities involving an employee's administration of County funds. Guenther provided County records for the investigators to review. On the morning of Sept. 7, the investigators returned and interviewed the employee. The employee, Connie Guild, has been terminated from County employment. To the extent requested to do so, the County will of course cooperate in furthering the investigation."
Calls to the local FBI and IRS offices seeking information were referred to Dennis Holenstein, an IRS public information officer in Nashville, Tenn. Holenstein said federal agencies are barred from commenting.
"We're not able to confirm or deny there is any kind of investigation unless something has happened that has generated some sort of public record," Holenstein said. "There's nothing I can say. I can't confirm or deny."
Nathan Smith, county prosecutor, said his office had been contacted by the federal agencies as a courtesy in advance of their visit. Smith said other than that, the office isn't involved. Smith said if the federal authorities decide to proceed with a criminal case against Guild it will be handled in the federal courts.
Guenther has worked for the county since October 2014 and supervised Guild for all of that time. She said she wasn't given much information, but complied with the request for county records. The county was contacted by federal agents who asked for specific county records and those records were provided, Guenther said.
"At this point, we're not sure of the number," Guenther said when asked if money was missing. "We'll be cooperating in any way they need. Based upon what we do know we're strengthening some controls, even though I've already strengthened some since I arrived."
According to Barb Ludwig, human resources administrator, Guild was hired Aug. 16, 2000, for a job in the Collector's Office and transferred to the Accounting Office on Jan. 25, 2005.
Clinard said he's concerned the news of possible improprieties will reflect badly on other employees.
"It reflects on Benton County," Clinard said. "It reflects on other employees. It shouldn't, but it does. People working for any entities in the county, in the state or in the nation can make bad decisions and do the wrong thing."
"I don't know the depth of the mistake," Clinard said. "I don't know the outcome of the investigation. But I hate it for the other employees."
Clinard said he has no indication anyone else is being investigated.
"To my knowledge, today, there's no one else involved," he said.
NW News on 09/09/2016