A hearing has been scheduled to determine whether to revoke the probation of a former assistant to the county judge who was sentenced to 20 years' probation in 2017 for embezzling county funds that she used to buy Razorback tickets and a tuxedo for her dog, among other items.
See related: | Former assistant arrested for fraud | Ex-assistant pleads not guilty | Ex-assistant pleads guilty to fraud | Former assistant sentenced |
Kristi Lyn Goss, 46, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court on Sept. 11, 2017, to six felony counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, including two counts involving amounts over $25,000 and four counts involving amounts over $5,000. After waiving her right to a jury trial, she was sentenced on Nov. 22, 2017, to 20 years' supervised probation and ordered to pay over $366,000 in restitution.
Some of the confirmed personal purchases included payments to Entergy for her electric bills, to AT&T for her cellphone bills, tickets to Arkansas Razorback games, car payments, her personal real estate taxes, hotel gift cards, a diamond bracelet, sequin throw pillows and a tuxedo for her dog.
The case drew national attention after her arrest and Goss' use of the embezzled money to buy the throw pillows and a tuxedo for her pug were even featured in Esquire magazine's January 2018 issue in its "Dubious Achievement Awards for 2017."
A petition to show cause why her probation should be revoked was filed on Dec. 30, 2019, by Deputy Prosecutor Shana Alexander after a violation report was filed with the court on Dec. 23 by the Arkansas Department of Community Punishment.
The report notes Goss was ordered to pay a total of $366,532 in restitution, which included the auditing costs of the investigation into the thefts, a $600 fine and $400 in court costs. Garland County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence told The Sentinel-Record at the time of Goss' sentencing she would have to pay $300 a month toward the restitution and costs.
Lawrence noted a special condition of her probation was that Goss had to bring a copy of her income tax filing every year to her probation officer in case there is a change in her financial situation.
"If she gets a raise, changes her employment or comes into some money at some point that could increase the amount she is paying. They made sure there was a mechanism for that," Lawrence said.
The violation report states that as of Dec. 23, 2019, Goss "has failed to consistently make restitution payments" and "has also not made the full payment of $300 as well." The report alleges she also violated a travel condition of her probation, noting that on Dec. 13, 2019, Goss admitted to traveling outside Arkansas without permission.
In her petition, Alexander wrote that Goss' "probation should be revoked and the defendant should be committed to the state penitentiary to serve said sentence."
Goss was convicted as a habitual offender and could face up to the maximum time in prison if she were to violate her probation at any point over the next 20 years, Lawrence said.
According to court documents, a revocation plea hearing was held on Jan. 13 and Goss denied the allegations in the petition. A hearing on the matter was initially set for March 9, but the case has been continued until March 16 at the request of the special prosecutor appointed in the case, Jack McQuary, of the state office of the prosecutor coordinator in Little Rock, who cited a conflict with another appointment that day.
According to an affidavit of indigency filed by Goss at her plea hearing, she is divorced and lives with her stepfather and is currently on disability, drawing $1,200 a month. She also listed $1,450 in monthly expenses.
Judge John Homer Wright found Goss was partially indigent and ordered her to be represented by a public defender, but Goss is to pay a $25 public defender user fee.
Goss, who was arrested Oct. 25, 2016, and later released on a $50,000 bond, was represented by appointed public defender Lee D. Short, of Little Rock, at her sentencing hearing in 2017. On June 7, 2018, Short filed a motion to withdraw as her attorney of record noting his duties were completed after her sentencing, which was granted by Wright.
Goss had been employed as an administrative assistant by Garland County since 2004, starting under former County Judge Larry Williams, and was officially terminated on June 3, 2016, under the tenure of former County Judge Rick Davis. She reportedly left her position at the end of May 2016 after the fraud allegations came to light.
According to the affidavit filed by Arkansas State Police Special Agent David Moss, who was assigned the case July 1, 2016, Goss fraudulently charged approximately $200,000 worth of items, including personal bill payments, to a Garland County credit card that was obtained in December 2011.
Garland County Comptroller Susan Ashmore discovered the discrepancies in May 2016 after Goss failed to pay county bills on time. Legislative Auditor Jimmy Locke discovered 3,722 charges made on the card between December 2011 and May 2016 and confirmed $70,523.64 in personal purchases made by Goss using subpoenaed business records.
According to her presentencing report, Goss stated one of her jobs was "to write up all the claims to pay bills for several offices within the county" and she noticed how some people "would get by with personal purchases."
She stated that one afternoon one of her children called to tell her the water had been shut off at their residence and "she panicked" because she wasn't getting paid for several more days and so she paid the bill with the county credit card. She stated she "had honest intentions" to pay it all back on payday, but never did.
She stated she realized "how easy it was" and started paying "more and more bills" with county funds. She noted her then-husband had a meth problem so "all the family bills were on her" and "she was raising five kids and the bills kept piling up." She noted, "the stress of supporting her entire household was too much for her."
Goss stated that "I will regret this for the rest of my life and I wish I could do it all over again."
Local on 02/19/2020