Former sheriff's office director admits embezzlement of $138,102

By Patti Weaver

(Stillwater, OK) — A 61-year-old Stillwater woman who admitted to embezzling $138,102 from the Payne County Sheriff's Office while she was its director has been sentenced to six years in prison. prison followed by 20 years of probation during which she must make payments of $850 per month in restitution.

Linda Gail Farley, who prepaid $19,162.81, was taken into custody at the conclusion of her sentencing May 30 by Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling, who approved the deal plea deal with the prosecution for six counts of embezzlement and two counts of forgery. entries relating to the expenditure of public funds.

Farley's restitution totaled $208,708, of which $138,102 was paid to the sheriff's office and the balance to the Payne County Clerk for audit costs.

The judge told Farley in court: “You have made significant mistakes. I hope you can make a difference.

Assistant Payne County Prosecutor Karen Dixon said she made her sentencing recommendation because of the misappropriation of public funds.

Farley had been hired in 2009 by then-Sheriff RB Hauf and fired in 2001 by current Sheriff Joe Harper, who, along with Payne County Clerk Glenna Craig, became suspicious of her activities and requested a state audit that was expanded by District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas, authorities. said.

“On November 15, 2021, Payne County Sheriff Joe Harper requested assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) regarding an invoice that had been altered by Linda Farley for payment by Payne County for work allegedly performed on a Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle by Bill. Knight Ford,” this was actually done to a vehicle owned by Farley’s daughter, according to an affidavit.

The prosecutor said in a press release: “This embezzlement was complex and brazen and committed by a trusted employee of the Sheriff's Office. To ensure a meticulously successful trial, I brought a former employee out of retirement for this case,” Karen Dixon as a special prosecutor with specific expertise in embezzlement cases.