Bunnell, FL - A former employee of the Flagler County Tax Collector's Office is accused of stealing over $20,000 during their time as a clerk.
And now the Flagler County Sheriff's Office has a warrant for her arrest.
According to FCSO, 60-year-old Deborah Thomas is now charged with grand theft after investigators found out she stole around $21,834 between 2011 and 2018.
Thomas used to work as an Ambulance Specialist and received money from customers in the form of cash, checks, money orders, etc. The investigation revealed that Thomas would take cash from customers, but did not include the cash she received when depositing the funds.
After catching wind of these thefts, the Tax Collector's office enlisted the assistance from Tri-Tech, the company that manages the billing system for the office.
They began to review transactions dating back to 2011, looking for discrepancies in the accounting, leading them to find out that cash payments were not being deposited.
They discovered that Thomas was creating reversal transactions for the cash that was paid to cover up the cash being taken.
It would show that the cash was paid, then a reversal would be created to make it appear that the money was refunded or paid by other means.
The computer system identified Thomas as the employee who created the reversals.
Thomas has since moved to Tennessee and was not available for an in-person interview.
However, during a phone interview with an FCSO detective, Thomas admitted to taking money.
Then, today (April 30th), FCSO was able to secure a warrant with limited extradition for Thomas' arrest.
Once Thomas is arrested, they will be held on a $5,000 bond.
FCSO also says that due to the Statute of Limitations, the theft charges will run from February 2014 to July of 2018, a total of $16,418.
