Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Indicted in Federal Payroll Fraud Scheme: Clerks Allegedly Paid to Care for Her Mother
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against three individuals for their alleged roles in a scheme to defraud Fort Bend County, Texas, through fraudulent payroll practices, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced on October 22.
The defendants are Carmen Patrice Turner, 65, of Richmond, the elected tax assessor-collector of Fort Bend County, who faces charges involving conspiracy, theft concerning federal program funds, and wire fraud; Shemerrylyn Regina Fields, 47, of Rosharon; and Victor Calvin Ewing, 69, of Houston, both of whom Turner allegedly hired as part of the scheme. Turner and Fields were expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston, while law enforcement arrested Ewing in Chicago, Illinois, where he was expected to make his initial appearance.
According to the indictment, Turner orchestrated a scheme from approximately September 2023 through September 2025 to use county payroll funds to pay individuals for work they did not perform. Turner allegedly hired Fields and another individual as deputy tax clerks but directed them to provide care for her elderly mother during regular county work hours, and instructed them to clock in and out remotely through the county's telephone timekeeping system while falsely reporting they were performing their official duties.
The indictment further alleges Turner hired Ewing as a full-time department coordinator despite knowing he already worked full-time for a company in Chicago and would not perform the duties of the county position. Ewing allegedly received a county salary while continuing his employment in Chicago, and agreed to transfer a portion of his county payroll deposits to Turner, in one instance transferring money to Turner through Cash App after receiving a county payroll payment. The three allegedly used false timesheets, concealed their actual work activities, and maintained access to county computer systems to create the appearance of legitimate employment.
According to the indictment, Turner also used Ewing's credentials to access WebDealer, a system county tax offices and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles use to process vehicle registrations, while Ewing was working in Chicago. In one of those transactions, Turner allegedly erroneously approved a vehicle cost of $295,836.92 instead of $29,583.92, causing the dealership a significant error in the assessed sales tax, which is automatically withdrawn from the dealership's bank account. The release did not state a total loss amount for the alleged scheme.
"Carmen Turner has been strutting around Fort Bend County with the title The Honorable for years. Nothing could be more dishonorable — or illegal — than her and her conspirators' public corruption," said U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz. "Taxpayers deserve so much better." Jason Hudson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Houston Field Office, said public service is a privilege, not a right to break the law, and that when a public official violates the law, they violate the trust of the citizens they swore to serve and protect, urging anyone with information about public corruption to report it. Lieutenant Erik Burse of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that through collaborative effort, justice prevails.
If convicted, all three face up to 20 years for each wire fraud count, a maximum of 10 years for theft concerning federal program funds, and another five years for conspiracy, with each charge also carrying a potential fine of up to $250,000. The FBI and the Texas Rangers conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Ferko and Rodolfo Ramirez are prosecuting the case. An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Houston 的 Bob Casey 美国联邦法院大楼（德州南区联邦法院所在地，本案被告在此首次出庭；Wikimedia Commons，公共领域）
