MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — One of the defendants in a federal fraud case against two former Berkeley County public employees had an initial appearance and arraignment Wednesday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia tells The Panhandle News Network that Lisa French was arraigned and was granted pre-trial release.
Jury Selection for the jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 1 in Martinsburg before U.S. District Judge Gina Groh.
French is a former Berkeley County public employee who was indicted June 18 on charges she and fellow defendant Barbara Gooden allegedly committed fraud that siphoned off more than $3 million in a years-long scheme that targeted accounts of those under the conservatorship of the sheriff’s department.
French was listed as a deputy clerk on a Berkeley County Commission meeting agenda from November 2024. That agenda item lists French’s resignation from her post effective Oct. 30, 2024.
A federal grand jury returned a five‑count indictment charging the two former employees of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and multiple counts of bank fraud stemming from an alleged long‑running scheme to steal taxpayer funds and misappropriate conservator account assets, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
The indictment names French and Barbara Gooden, 60, also of Martinsburg. According to the indictment, from 2007 to 2024, Gooden and French conspired to defraud by embezzling cash payments collected by the Sheriff’s Office and manipulating conservatorship and estate bank accounts under the office’s administration. In carrying out their scheme, defendants issued fraudulent checks, forged signatures, misused a signature stamp, and diverted funds for personal use.
“This office will continue to safeguard taxpayer resources, protect the interests of vulnerable individuals, and ensure that those entrusted with public responsibilities are held fully accountable for violations of that trust,” U.S. Attorney Matt Harvey said when the charges were announced.
As a result of the conspiracy, Gooden and French are alleged to have misappropriated more than $3 million. The alleged fraud included fraudulent checks drawn from conservator accounts and issued either to the “Berkeley County Sheriff & Treasurer” or to a private business, to benefit Gooden and French. In total, the defendants allegedly carried out more than 700 fraudulent transactions, including over 550 forged checks, withdrawing substantial funds from at least 59 conservator bank accounts.
Gooden will also be arraigned in federal court and a trial date set.