KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A former Knox County court clerk stole more than $6,500 while on the job in 2019, making false entries in the accounting system and sometimes making criminal defendants pay more than they were supposed to, authorities said Thursday.
Steven L. Harmon, 38, of Knoxville will spend a year on unsupervised probation. He pleaded guilty to theft between $1,000 and $2,500, but the actual amount was much higher, Knox County Assistant District Attorney General Bill Bright said. He paid restitution of $6,578 as part of the plea deal.
Harmon appeared remotely Thursday morning before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green.
Harmon, who started work in the General Sessions division as a deputy clerk in February 2014, pleaded guilty by information to the count, meaning a grand jury didn't review it.
The case has been in the works for more than a year.
The Tennessee Comptroller's Office investigated after Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond became suspicious in October 2019 that Harmon had been pocketing court funds while at work, Bright told Green.
The investigation showed Harmon took money while processing defendants' court payments from January 2019 until October 2019, Bright said.
Harmon was put on administrative leave without pay in February 2020, according to Hammond's office.
Harmon made more than 120 false entries into the clerk's accounting system software, Bright said.
One method he pursued was to void the cash payment someone would make, show a lesser amount paid in the system for the defendant and pocket the difference, the prosecutor said.
On a few occasions amounting to about $352, Harmon created fictitious fees that a defendant would have to pay.
According to Bright, Hammond's office has refunded those bogus charges back to the defendants.
There were other transactions involving multiple defendants where he had them pay more than they should, the prosecutor said, and those people also have been reimbursed by the Clerk's Office.
Harmon declined to comment when invited by Green to speak.
The judge reminded him that if he got into any trouble during his one-year term without supervision that he might have to go to jail.
"You're going to be carrying around this felony conviction for the rest of your life," Green said.
Hammond issue a release late Thursday morning.
"The financial team has been working with the Comptroller to correct deficiencies in the void procedure. The report verified the deficiencies had been corrected, and procedures are in place to ensure proper documentation and oversight on any voided receipts," the release states.