Former court employee pleads guilty to stealing

Last September, Greene County prosecutors charged Rhonda Bateman with three counts of felony stealing for her alleged role in an embezzlement scheme involving about $1.3 million taken from court coffers. As part of Bateman’s plea agreement, the two remaining counts will be dismissed at Bateman’s sentencing Oct. 19 before Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden.

“The plea agreement accomplishes the city’s goal of receiving an admission of guilt and making Mrs. Bateman accountable for the missing money,” Assistant City Manager Evelyn Honea said in a news release.

Bateman faces a possible penalty of five to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors, who are opposed to probation, are asking Holden to sentence Bateman to 10 years in prison.

The city’s Finance department began noticing accounting discrepancies in the summer of 2005, and police launched an investigation in June of last year. The city also hired a forensic examiner with BKD LLP accounting firm to conduct an internal audit.

Bateman was subsequently arrested and fired, and then-court administrator Janice Piper resigned a short time later.

Since the discovery of the missing funds, the municipal court has modified its money-handling policies to ensure deter similar schemes. Changes include:

• An additional camera monitoring the vault.

• The presence of two employees when the vault is opened and when cash payments are reconciled.

• Computer-generated nightly reports on cash trays not uploaded to the city’s financial system that are reviewed by the chief judge and finance director.

• A daily file of all transactions by cashier and type is checked against bank deposits.