Audit says Tulsa County jail accounts were poorly managed

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A state audit of the inmate trust accounts at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office during the previous administration shows the records were so poorly managed that auditors could not determine whether more than $188,000 was embezzled or misappropriated.
Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones released a scathing audit Monday of the accounts from 2007 to 2012. The funds in inmate commissary accounts included money taken from inmates during booking, which was typically in cash.
The audit determined that as many as 500 receipt books were missing and that inmates were sometimes erroneously paid money that wasn’t owed. It also found TCSO management ignored or dismissed repeated findings related to the lack of accountability of inmate trust funds.
TCSO spokesman Justin Green says changes have been made in recent years.