The former director of Yell County Emergency Medical Services and his wife were arrested on multiple charges Monday in connection with $680,175 in unauthorized or undocumented payments reported by an audit.
Sidney Lee Ward, 69, and his wife, Donna Ward, 42, both of Belleville, surrendered to Yell County sheriff's office investigators about 9 a.m. Monday, according to a sheriff's office news release.
Sidney Ward is the former director of Yell County EMS, and Donna Ward is the former bookkeeper.
Sidney Ward was charged with six counts of felony theft of property in an amount of $25,000 or more, the sheriff's office said.
Donna Ward was charged with three counts of felony theft of property in an amount of $25,000 or more and three counts of felony theft of property in an amount less than $25,000 but more than $5,000, according to the sheriff's office. She also was charged with one felony count of computer fraud, one felony count of unlawful act regarding computers and one felony count of tampering with physical evidence.
The Wards were released at 9:30 a.m. Monday on $5,000 bond each, court records show. The two are scheduled for arraignment Feb. 4 in Yell County Circuit Court in Danville.
A message left for Sidney Ward wasn't returned Monday afternoon. Donna Ward hung up the phone when contacted Monday afternoon for comment.
The Wards received $680,175 in unauthorized or undocumented payments from Jan. 1, 2010, through Aug. 7, 2015, according to an investigative report released last week by the Arkansas Legislative Audit.
Sidney Ward was overpaid $528,646 during that time period, the report states.
Donna Ward received $119,686 in overpayments, according to the report. Her dependents also improperly benefited from $31,843 in health insurance premiums, the report said.
The pair were suspended from their positions Aug. 7 and terminated Oct. 27.
Yell County EMS is a private, nonprofit organization governed by a five-member board of directors appointed by the county judge, according to the Arkansas Legislative Audit report. The ambulance service is staffed by 34 full- and part-time employees.
Sidney Ward was hired by the ambulance service in August 1988, and Donna Ward was hired in 1999, the report said.
According to an affidavit, Arkansas Legislative Audit was contacted by Yell County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum II to review the records of Yell County EMS over the past four years.
An appendix to the Arkansas Legislative Audit report states that questions indicating possible mismanagement at the ambulance service surfaced in mid-July 2015 when employees notified board members that their Individual Retirement Account contributions weren't being deposited in a timely manner, and health insurance premiums weren't being paid.
A board inquiry into payroll expenditures found that Sidney Ward "had been receiving greater than $100,000 in salary in addition to his base salary of $62,500 and additional overtime," the report said.
Sidney Ward initially offered no explanation and insisted the apparent overpayment was an accounting error committed by the ambulance service's certified public accountant, according to the report.
The Wards were suspended, and Tatum requested the assistance of the Arkansas Legislative Audit.
On Aug. 21, Arkansas Legislative Audit officials met with Yell County EMS officials who stated "the board had discovered Sidney Ward had received approximately $190,000 in salary last year, but had only been authorized to receive approximately $65,000," the affidavit said. Ambulance service officials "indicated this had been going on for several years."
When the Wards were confronted, Donna Ward went into a "computer program and reclassified a significant amount of salary that had been paid to Sidney Ward to other employees," according to the affidavit. The ambulance service's certified public accountant confirmed that statement.
On Aug. 26, Capt. John Foster of the Yell County sheriff's office and Arkansas Legislative Audit officials removed eight computers and one USB digital drive from the Yell County EMS building in Danville, the affidavit said.
Officials also took financial documents that were turned over to the Arkansas Legislative Audit for analyzing.
The affidavit said improper payments to Sidney Ward included $52,184 in 2010, $98,155 in 2011, $96,241 in 2012, $126,199 in 2013, $120,598 in 2014 and $35,269 in 2015.
Improper payments to Donna Ward include $15,424 in 2010, $23,427 in 2011, $26,528 in 2012, $35,880 in 2013, $39,146 in 2014 and $11,124 in 2015, the affidavit said.
A forensic examination of the computers found that digital records used in the ambulance service's bookkeeping had been altered Aug. 3 and 4, the affidavit states. Sidney Ward's salary was decreased by $24,292 below what he was actually paid. Other employees' salaries were increased by $15,161 above what they were actually paid.
The Arkansas Legislative Audit's report said the EMS unit's board of directors "did not exercise proper fiscal oversight over EMS operations, ensure operating policies and procedures were current, maintain its own set of meeting minutes to document board decisions or provide safeguards to prevent or detect misappropriation of EMS funds."
"The board did not provide adequate oversight of the director," the report said.
Jerry Woods, chairman of the Yell County EMS board of directors, said last week that no money had yet been recovered. He also said the board has made changes to prevent future wrongdoing.
State Desk on 01/26/2016