MADISON, W.Va. — Two Boone County school system workers were arraigned and posted $50,000 bond each Wednesday after being charged with embezzling money from the school system, state police said.
Investigating troopers allege Boone County Schools Transportation Director David Bryan Jarrell and mechanic Tracy Lee Harvey took money allocated to the transportation system and made purchases of at least $20,000 for personal vehicles and a family trucking business over the past few years.
They are charged with embezzlement and fraudulent schemes.
“We started turning up fraudulent invoices and invoices that didn’t match stuff that was purchased and through the linking of these receipts they found out that some of the stuff that was being purchased wouldn’t even fit school buses,” State Police Sgt. Charlest Sutphin told MetroNews.
Troopers began their investigation after getting a tip. The investigation isn’t over and could include others, Sutphin confirmed.
“We’re looking into some possible misrepresentations and misuse of money on a couple of other individuals also. We are still investigating,” Sutphin said.
Jarrell and Harvey are brothers-in-law. Jarrell is married to Harvey’s sister. Harvey’s father owns the trucking company where some of the money is alleged to have gone.
Sutphin said investigating troopers Cpl. D.C. Brinegar and Cpl. K.D. Harper have been spending a lot of time on the investigation which involves a lengthy paper trail.
“There a hundreds of receipts and then comparing those receipts and then getting actual invoices from these companies and comparing them and finding where things have been altered on them and then tracking down these parts and finding out what they go on. It’s been a tedious process,” Sutphin said.
The cases will now be scheduled for preliminary hearings.