Co-Conspirator in Theft from Shelby County Chancery Court Clerk’s Office Gets 46 Months in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 08, 2012 |
MEMPHIS—Correy Isom, age 35, of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,063,903.20 for his involvement in the embezzlement of more than one million dollars from the Chancery Court Clerk’s Office in Shelby County, Tennessee, announced Edward L. Stanton, III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Mr. Isom had earlier pled guilty to one count of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to steal from a government entity receiving federal funds), one count of 18 U.S.C. § 666 (theft from a government entity receiving federal funds), and one count of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (money laundering).
Brandon Gunn, his co-conspirator, pleaded guilty by information on October 28, 2011 and was sentenced on February 3, 2012 to 48 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release.
According to the indictment filed in the case against Correy Isom, Brandon Gunn was an accounting technician in the Shelby County Chancery Court Clerk’s Office. Gunn was responsible for dealing with the sale of properties for delinquent real estate taxes. Funds from delinquent tax sales are deposited into the Shelby County Chancery Court Clerk’s Fund Account, along with other funds. Beginning in 2008, Gunn commenced to write checks on that account payable to Correy Isom, other co-conspirators, or to entities he created for the purpose of disguising his involvement in the theft.
Gunn used his knowledge of the Chancery Court system and of tax sales to make it appear these checks were legitimate. The checks were cashed or deposited by Isom into the accounts of the entities or into the account of Isom. Ultimately, Correy Isom and Brandon Gunn used these funds for their own use and benefit.
This case was investigated by Mike Wiederspahn of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Division. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Fred Godwin on behalf of the government.