Ft. Gay, W.Va. — Fort Gay’s former mayor, Joetta R. Hatfield, and former treasurer and recorder, Sheila K. Bowen, have been granted parole from their respective sentences for convictions of embezzlement from the town.
According to the West Virginia Parole Board, both women were granted accelerated parole during a hearing on Monday, Aug. 10, and will be released from the Charleston Correctional Center and Jail, which includes a co-ed work-release center, on Thursday, Aug. 13.
Both Fort Gay officials were sentenced to prison after an investigation revealed more than $370,000 in public funding was diverted for personal use over the span of eight years. Former mayor Joetta Hatfield and former treasurer and recorder Sheila Brown will serve 1-to-10 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony embezzlement in September.
Mason County prosecutor Seth Gaskins, who served as a special prosecutor in the case, said remaining charges – including fraudulent schemes, conspiracy, falsifying records and computer fraud – were dismissed. According to Gaskins, Hatfield has been ordered to pay $245,000 in restitution while Bowen will pay $127,000.
Prosecutors said the women used their positions within the town to issue unauthorized checks, overcompensate themselves for leave, withdraw cash and adjust utility payments. Records were later manipulated to hide the fraudulent activity.
Prosecutors noted the state agreed to recommend probation for Bowen in exchange for her cooperation early in the investigation, but the judge denied a motion for alternative sentencing.
