Former Pevely city clerk Amber Adams, 29, of Herculaneum has been charged with a felony in connection with missing city funds.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged her Monday with receiving stolen property, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, court records show. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Adams at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday in Festus.
Adams, who was being held Tuesday afternoon in the Jefferson County Jail on a $4,000 bond, could not be reached for comment.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Adams withdrew $1,000 in cash from a city of Pevely credit union account on Oct. 24, 2018, without the city’s consent. While Adams had authority to make purchases or get cash advances on behalf of the city, she did not have proper authorization for the withdrawal from the credit union, the report said.
Adams allegedly told investigators that she withdrew the money on behalf of two city employees who were out of town for training so she could wire it to them in case they needed it to pay for their rooms, according to the report.
She said the employees didn’t need the money, though, and she “thought she placed the cash in a petty cash drawer located in City Hall,” the report said.
The two other employees were questioned and allegedly told investigators they never spoke with Adams about having the money wired to them. They said they instead had been instructed to pay for the rooms with a personal credit card and then request reimbursement from the city, according to the report.
Pevely Mayor Stephanie Haas would not comment about the case.
Adams, who became the Pevely city clerk in July 2015, resigned from the job on Oct. 24.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said Tuesday that the case is still under investigation.