By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Helen Renee Stewart, the former Carter County Tourism treasurer, entered a plea of guilty to charges of theft by unlawful taking or disposition last Tuesday (March 18) and was ordered by Judge Rebecca Phillips to pay $24,000 in restitution to the tourism commission. In addition to repaying the funds, Stewart – who will be formally sentenced in April – will have five years of supervised probation as a condition of her pretrial diversion deal.
News of Stewart’s embezzlement first came to light last June, when then tourism president Chris Perry was made aware that the commission’s account had been overdrawn. Perry brought the issue to fiscal court’s attention in July, after turning the issue over to Kentucky State Police.
Stewart was indicted in August on a Class C Felony charge of theft by unlawful taking of more than $10,000.00, after which a full accounting of the misused funds was made available to the Carter County Times. Those documents showed that despite her initial claim to Perry that she “borrowed” no more than $5,000 from the tourism account, Stewart’s misuse of funds actually amounted to $21,494.84 – including more than $14,700 in cash withdrawals, $2,800 on groceries, $650 on clothing, $545 on digital purchases, $800 on personal utility bills, and various other purchases such as $117 for a manicure and $234 for restaurant meals and Door Dash deliveries.
While the $24,000 in restitution exceeds the $21,494.84 that Stewart admitted to taking, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Barry Bradley explained, it reflects the cost to tourism in covering overdraft fees and operational loans taken out by tourism to cover existing commitments. The promise of recouping those funds is what led tourism to accept a plea deal with their former treasurer.
“Their (Tourism’s) main focus was to get their funds back,” Bradley explained.
As part of the deal that would see those funds returned to the tourism commission, Stewart agreed to plead guilty to a Class D Felony, theft by unlawful taking up to $10,000.00 – an agreement that made Stewart eligible for pretrial diversion.
Phillips told Stewart that if she successfully completed her diversion, she could be eligible for expungement after a set period of time. That outcome, however, is dependent on multiple factors; including successfully paying off the $24,000 in restitution owed to tourism, abiding by the terms of her probation, and staying out of further legal trouble. If she offends again during that time period, not only would Stewart have to serve out the remainder of the deferred sentence of five years, but she could also be charged as a persistent felony offender if charged with another felony count.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
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