By Staff
Suspected of stealing at least$100,000
By CLAUD HODGES
Senior Reporter
An alleged Beaufort County Hospital Foundation embezzlement case came before the Beaufort County Grand Jury Monday and a former hospital employee was indicted for the crime.
Jeanne Williams Jones was indicted Monday for allegedly embezzling $100,000 or more from the Beaufort County Hospital Foundation between August 2000 and February 2006.
Jones does not live today in Washington.
The foundation is the fundraising arm of the hospital.
The next step in the judicial process is to have Jones served with an arrest warrant showing that the indictment has been handed down against her.
After Jones is arrested, she will appear before a magistrate, who will set conditions of a pretrial release. Once she complies with those conditions, she will be released and will wait for a court date.
Sermons agreed that June 9 will probably be the first time the case will be heard.
According to the indictment, Jones “unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did embezzle and fraudulently and knowingly misapply and convert to her own use, and with the intent to embezzle and fraudulently and knowingly misapply and convert to her own use, take and make away with and secrete U.S. Currency belonging to Beaufort County Hospital Foundation, Incorporated.”
The offense against Jones is classified as a Class C felony. A minimum sentence for a Class C felony for a person with no criminal history is five years and two months; the maximum sentence for a Class C felony for a person with no criminal history is seven years and nine months.
Anglim said the indictment is a very early component of the judicial process.
In addition, the district attorney’s office must disclose to the defendant every investigative file the district attorney’s office has on the case, Anglim said.
Sermons said that Jones has cooperated throughout the case with detectives from the Washington Police Department and officials from the district attorney’s office and the Beaufort County Hospital.
Anglim said an indictment shows that there is probable cause that two conditions exist: That a crime was committed and that the person named committed the crime.
Detective Jerry Davis, with the Washington Police Department, began an investigation into Jones’ case on Nov. 26, 2007, after the alleged embezzlement was reported by the foundation. His final report, which was more than 300 pages, was delivered to the district attorney’s office in late January.
In addition to the police department’s report, the foundation’s bank records for a specific account covering a period beginning in 2000 and ending in 2006 were examined during the investigation.
According to the district attorney’s office, additional investigation to accompany the police department’s report were the review of additional financial documents and accounts of the foundation; the review of other financial accounts that may have been created, maintained and possibly closed between 2000 and 2006; and the request for information and status of the investigation by the foundation.