The sheriff’s office reported over $40,000 missing from an inmate welfare account. It believes someone has been using the account to make fraudulent payments to a telecommunications company.
Deputies looked through Verizon’s records back in March and found the account had been used for monthly payments from October 2022 to July 2025.
Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said the account supports the incarcerated.
“The money is used for programming, education, treatment programs,” Bates said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour" Aug. 3. “It’s used to buy TVs. It’s used to buy exercise equipment. It’s used to buy the seeds… for the garden.”
Bates said the account is not taxpayer funded. Instead, it holds funds generated by inmate services and labor.
The department has not identified any suspects yet. However, investigators don’t believe current or former employees are responsible.
The sheriff’s office says scams have increased across the county but investigators have not officially linked this case to a broader scheme.
So far this year, 207 scams have been reported in the county. That’s up from the 140 by this time last year.
Skyler Talbot, the sheriff’s office spokesperson, said fraud impacts everyone.
“The sheriff’s office certainly is not immune to this either,” Talbot said. “We’ll put another plug in for those frauds and scams. Be vigilant, and you know, like the sheriff says, report those when you see those inconsistencies in your banking.”
The investigation is ongoing.
