Former Knoxville Police Department Financial Analyst Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 27, 2012 |
KNOXVILLE—John Harold, 46, of Knoxville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville to an information charging him with one count of embezzling property under the control of the city of Knoxville, worth more than $5000.
Sentencing has been set for 10:00 a.m. on November 15, 2012. Harold faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and up to three years’ supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan was informed at the time of his guilty plea that Harold was employed as a senior financial analyst for the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) at the time of the embezzlement. An internal investigation revealed that Harold had misappropriated over $50,000 in funds associated with the 2007 Internet Crimes Against Children grant that is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The court was further advised that Harold initiated a budget amendment to allow a $50,000 check to be drawn without approval. In April 2011 the check was issued by Harold to the Community Coalition on Family Violence (CCFV) and deposited into a bank account listing CCFV as the owner and Harold as having signatory authority. Account statements indicated that Harold issued checks payable to himself from the CCFV account, including checks totaling $33,000 between December 2010 and August 2011.
In addition to KPD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Dale represented the United States.