WASHINGTON, VA – Virginia State Police has confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the “accounting practices” of the Rappahannock County government, following a request by Rappahannock County Treasurer Debbie Knick.

As first reported by the Rappahannock News, VSP Public Relations Director Corinne N. Geller stated in a written release to local media, “At the request of the Rappahannock County Treasurer, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (BCI) Appomattox Field Office initiated an investigation in March 2017, into an allegation made concerning the Rappahannock County government’s accounting practices. The investigation remains ongoing at this time. No charges or arrests have been made.”

Geller’s written statement did not indicate whether a specific county official or officials were under investigation or if the inquiry involved the county’s accounting practices as a whole.

Ms. Knick, as a constitutional officer of Rappahannock County, was duty-bound by Virginia code to report “any circumstances suggesting a reasonable possibility that a fraudulent transaction has occurred involving funds or property under the control of any state department, court, officer, board, commission, institution or other agency of the Commonwealth, including local constitutional officers and appointed officials exercising the powers of elected constitutional officers.”

The investigation began less than a month after Knick’s February 15 letter to the county’s board of supervisors, in which she accused her own county government of mismanagement, and cited the board’s failure to follow proper expense and payroll procedures as well as a lack of oversight of budgeting and spending.

Reached by telephone, Knick declined to comment on the investigation.  Rappahannock County Administrator Debbie Keyser did not return emails requesting a comment on the investigation and attempts to reach her by telephone were unsuccessful.

Virginia State Police Lt. Col. Gary Settle, a resident of Rappahannock County, heads the department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, or BCI; he also chairs the Rappahannock County Planning Commission. Because of those connections, Geller confirmed that Settle has purposely recused himself from any investigative oversight or involvement in the case, in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

Because of Settle’s recusal, the case has been assigned to a special agent in the VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office.  Had Settle not recused himself, the investigation would have originated from the VSP BCI Culpeper Field Office.

“This investigation is being conducted just like any other criminal investigation conducted by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation,” Gellar stated. “All facets of the allegation will be pursued through interviews, evidentiary collection and analysis, and consultation with the commonwealth’s attorney.”

Geller said in an email Wednesday that the Virginia State Police “do not put timelines on an investigation because every case is unique in nature, consequence, and situation.”  She that a VSP Special Agent assigned to the case serves as the primary investigator. He then reports to the Captain of his Field Office in Appomattox, who reports to Deputy Director Major Tim Lyon.

Once the investigation is final, she said, the State Police will “turn its findings over to the commonwealth’s attorney for final review and adjudication.”

Rappahannock County Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff said Wednesday that he had no comment on the investigation.

VIRGINIA CODE

§ 30-138. State agencies, courts, and local constitutional officers to report certain fraudulent transactions; penalty.

A.   Upon the discovery of circumstances suggesting a reasonable possibility that a fraudulent transaction has occurred involving funds or property under the control of any state department, court, officer, board, commission, institution or other agency of the Commonwealth, including local constitutional officers and appointed officials exercising the powers of elected constitutional officers, as to which one or more officers or employees of state or local government may be party thereto, the state agency head, court clerk or local official in charge of such entity shall promptly report such information to the Auditor of Public Accounts (Auditor), the State Inspector General, and the Superintendent of State Police (Superintendent).

B.   The Auditor, the State Inspector General, or the Superintendent shall review the information reported pursuant to subsection A and individually determine the most appropriate method to investigate the information. In the event that the Auditor, the State Inspector General, or the Superintendent determines to conduct an investigation, he shall notify the others of the commencement of the investigation as soon as practicable, unless the information involves the Auditor, the State Inspector General, or the Superintendent.

C.   No state department, court, officer, board, commission, institution or other agency of the Commonwealth, including local constitutional officers and appointed officials exercising the powers of elected constitutional officers, shall employ or contract with any person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity to conduct an investigation or audit of information reported pursuant to subsection A without obtaining the prior written approval from the Auditor and the Superintendent. Pending acknowledgement of the report and receipt of the written approval from the Auditor and the Superintendent, the state department, court, officer, board, commission, institution, or other agency of the Commonwealth, including local constitutional officers and appointed officials exercising the powers of elected constitutional officers, may use their employees to audit the circumstances reported in subsection A to prevent the loss of assets.

D.   All state departments, courts, officers, boards, commissions, institutions or other agencies of the Commonwealth, including local constitutional officers and appointed officials exercising the powers of elected constitutional officers and their employees, shall cooperate to the fullest extent in any investigation or audit which may occur at the direction of the Auditor or the Superintendent or both as a result of information reported pursuant to subsection A.

E.   The willful failure to make the report as required by this section shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor.

F.   Nothing herein shall affect the requirements of § 52-8.2.